Skip to main content

tv   Washington This Week  CSPAN  January 26, 2013 7:00pm-1:00am EST

7:00 pm
>> how do you stop the pressure on medical cost? how do you stop the pressure for continual technology that adds new cost? >> this is a dilemma in our industry. we all want to live longer. we are all looking for the fountain of youth. some of us to live much longer. but the cost of that to help care and the government can be prohibitive at times. well we have done is we try to focus our investments on technology. technology makes sense -- may be expensive but if you look at the total cost, it significantly reduces the overall cost. if you have an $80,000 cancer drug regimen that only works in 25% of patients, if we want a $100,000 test to take the 80%
7:01 pm
that cannot receive benefits, not only do we spare the patient the side effects, we save health care about the cost. the obama administration a few years ago used t o -- to quote data. about $25 billion had no impact on the patient. if we spent $3 billion in these test capabilities, you save health care costs. we are looking at these game changing technologies to improve the overall cost of health care. the beauty of these is it is the essence of personalized medicine. if we can more effectively take your dna and identify the nuances of your specific disease, which cannot practice trial and error madison -- medicine.
7:02 pm
it is hundreds of billions of dollars wasted on trial and error madison. more specific approaches treating disease at the individual level will save a tremendous amount of money. >> ron andrews, d work with nih? do you take koretz with them? >> we are one of the -- do you take grants with them? >> friends as collins, the head of nih, -- francis collins, the head of nih, is talking about how health care will change. we have a great relationship with them. they grant money to researchers and misapplied researches and with technology -- and we supply
7:03 pm
researchers with technology. >> and this is the president of life technologies. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> our programming on the ces international show continues next week. this is "the communicators" on cspan. >> tomorrow, washington journal focus is on the topic of our nation's governors, their role on the national state and public and policy issues they face. we will hear from josh goodman on the trends and turnarounds and the state's relationship with the other zero government. and as always, your calls and questions on "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> the best training you can
7:04 pm
get to become a good police officer is [indiscernible] you learn how to use intelligence information, how to leverage relationships in the community. that is the key. if people of the of the community trust you, they will tell you when things are happening that are not yet crime so you can intervene. and they will tell you how to go about doing it. >> from high school dropout and single mother to the youngest police chief in washington, d.c. history, more with cathy lanier sunday night. >> homeland security secretary janet napolitano talks about national security priorities, including cybersecurity, immigration reform, border security, and disaster relief.
7:05 pm
hosta by the woodrow wilson center, this is 55 minutes -- hosted by the woodrow wilson center, this is 55 minutes. >> good morning. i am the director and president and ceo of the wilson center. i want to especially welcome the chairman of the board, our board, my boss. member -- and members of the council and alliances. it is an honor to co-host this event with the aspen institute and to welcome ambassadors from bulgaria, canada, costa rica, the czech republic and many others. unlike the washington monument or lincoln memorial, the wilson center is a living memorial to our 28th president. our only ph.d. president is that
7:06 pm
congress as his ph.d. subject. this center which chartered by congress in 1968. we claim to offer a safe political space for independent research and open dialogue that leads to actionable ideas for the brought policy community. that happens to be the goal of the aspen institute's homeland security and buys a group which i cochair. we are a bipartisan group in counter-terrorism experts. -- group and counter-terrorism experts. we discuss issues and problems and make recommendations to the current secretary who happens to be sitting right here. as a former nine term congresswoman, i served on all the major security communities in the house and i am passionate about these issues.
7:07 pm
42 years i have been at the wilson center, we have held programs and host a major national conversations -- for the two years i had been at the wilson center, we have health majorams and hosted a national conversations. the bobble public discussion we had -- very thoughtful public discussion we had may have helped the counter-terrorism playbook. we also hosted a national conversation last fall with cyber czar keep alexander on how to bring the public into the very difficult discussion on cyber. we suggest a range of issues and will cover some of this again today, from privacy to the role of the department of homeland security.
7:08 pm
all of the court is spent in that national conversation shared the view that cyber attacks pose a potential catastrophic threat to u.s. infrastructure. i met janet napolitano long ago. she knows what's coming. when she was a young associate in the phoenix law firm. she claims she had a perm. but i have no memory. [laughter] since then, she has been u.s. attorney, attorney general of arizona, governor of arizona, first woman to chair the national governors' association. obviously i have a great influence over her. we worked closely together when i shared the house homeland and intelligence subcommittee. she made one of her first field of physics to the port of los angeles -- first field visits to the port of los angeles.
7:09 pm
we will speak on cyber immigration, terrorism and disasters. it all impact the port of los angeles and other critical infrastructures throughout the country. the jurisdiction mergers 22 agencies and departments, its organization does not parallel the committee structure in congress and the threats against our country keep morphing, to name a few of the modest issues that confront janet napolitano every day. yet, she soldiers on and has made significant progress. special kudos to you and the department for the extraordinary performance during and after super storm sandy. what a sea change, no pun
7:10 pm
intended, from the response for katrina. one other person that is supposed to be here -- kerry lemac. i want to do a special shout out for her was mother was killed on 0/11 and whose voice and carriage have inspired congress and me and the executive branch -- mother was killed on 9/11 whose voice and courage have inspired congress and me and the executive branch. her movie did an extraordinary amount to expose that al qaeda's horror is against innocent muslims. bill webster just walked in. weighing in at 100 pounds, kerry may be the heavyweight.
7:11 pm
welcome to all of vehicle. -- to all of you. [applause] >> are you embarrassed? good. that was my intention. madam secretary, let's start with cyber. 9/11 is sdaid aid a cyber not and if but a win. what would it look like and how soon could it happen? >> it could happen imminently. it could take many forms. let me give one that may come to mind -- what happens when the electric grid goes down. we saw that during sandy and how that impacts everything but the ability to keep homes to the ability to pump gasoline to the ability to have lighting at night. when we look at the nation's critical and for structure and where it is vulnerable, one of
7:12 pm
the vulnerability is is the cyber and network cyberworld we lived in. we have been kind of try to get this word out. saying, look, we shouldn't wait until there is a 9/11 in the cyber world. there are things that we can and should be doing now that would prevent or mitigate the extent of damage that could be caused. >> most in this audience know legislation is pending in congress, but it stalled. i know we are all shocked to hear that it all. as far as i know, the white house will soon release an executive order to add authorities that do not exist. in a perfect world, what authority do we not have, does dhs need and what role should
7:13 pm
dhs play in keeping our country safe from a catastrophic cyber attack? >> cyber is one of the areas where the department has of all the most in the last few years. now we have a 24/7 what center, a significant number of workers who are experts in the field. --a 24/7 watch center, a significant number of workers or experts in the field. myself, the head of the fbi and keith alexander have worked very closely together to develop playbooks and to ascertain who has what roles and responsibilities in different scenarios. in civilian space, our ability to detect, prevent, and mitigate its assisted based on
7:14 pm
whether we know something has occurred. the idea of sharing and getting notice, particularly when the infiltrated entity is part of the nation's critical impasse structure that everybody else relies upon, is key. the ability to undertake certain medications -- mitigation measures is key. the ability to hire personnel without some other restrictions of the civil service -- civil service system is key. legislation would have the effect of clarifying, making sure those responsibilities are in statute. >> why don't you explain what's physma is. >> i will let you explain what is.
7:15 pm
>> finish your sentence, request that is a concept -- >> finish your sentence. >> that is a concept -- anyway, legislation will be critical. part of our job is to educate congress on what is going on out there. educate the public. we say cyber and everybody's eyes glaze over. i can see it. nonetheless, the call is here. we need to deal with this urgently and imminently because attacks are coming all the time from different sources and take different forms. they are increasing in seriousness and sophistication. >> you mentioned civilian space. there is defense space, the government space than dot com
7:16 pm
and dot org. that is the civilian space and the overwhelming majority of space. a lot of our temperature is operated by the private sector -- a lot of our infrastructure is operated by the private sector. homeland has jurisdiction uniquely where the pentagon does not. or the nro doesn't over this civilian space. homeland have to be a major player. yet many in the private sector have been saying that homeland does not have the competence to do this job well. do you agree with that? >> no. [laughter] >> that is what is called a delay -- leading cancer. -- that is what we call a
7:17 pm
leading answer. perception need to catch up with reality. the department has moved light years ahead. president obama has continued to ask congress for the resources we need to do that. women talk about the interaction with the private-sector, which we do in a number of areas already -- when we talk about the interaction with the private sector, which we do in a number of areas already, the part that controls the core infrastructure with our statutory irresponsibility to help protect the nation's infrastructure. when we talk about linking those things together from a security perspective, we are not talking about a regulatory overlaid. we're talking about how do you take part of our country that is -- that everybody have to
7:18 pm
depend on and make sure that we have our security interests taken into account. >> i obviously agree. changing the subject to immigration -- president obama said on monday "our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see america as the land of opportunity. until bright young students and engineers are listed in our work force rather than expelled from our country." you were governor of arizona when the bush administration bipartisan comprehension bill failed. are we ready for another moment where we could pass such a thing? do we still need a bill like that? what efforts will you and your department make to try to help this president put immigration reform back on the top of the
7:19 pm
agenda? >> i think the president is clear that immigration is to move forward. it is one of those areas where the business interests and faith based interests and advocacy groups and others now clearly recognized that the system we have does not match the needs we have. we need to do a couple of things. most importantly, albany to reform the way -- most importantly, we need to reform the way people become citizens. we need to reform our visa system and deal practically with those already in the country. one of the arguments i now here is we cannot deal with immigration until we "secure the border." the fact is that border numbers have not been as low since the early 1970's.
7:20 pm
we have really changed that aspect of the border. more manpower, more technology, we now have air cover our costs the entire border. we are getting to the point of diminishing marginal returns. but help is a bit could improve the legal migration system. so people come to the country and we know who they are and where they are going and how they are entitled -- how long the are entitled to stay. we should not take these things sequentially. they go together. >> do you think the president will be able to make progress on this legislation in the first year of a second term? >> i think there is great bipartisan discussion already occurring in the congress in both houses on immigration. so this may be one of those big
7:21 pm
issues that congress can take up and recognize it is for the good of the country and try to get out of the partisan gridlock. >> i did not want to out him, but steve hadley is here and he remembers the discipline when that bill failed. your predecessor was one of the point person on it and how to sit addendas cabin by himself after it failed, he was so discouraged. but it is a big deal and affect our whole country. i am hopeful we make real progress. you have been working with the mexican government on creating a 21st century border, one based on the application of the latest technology. please update us on how that is going. >> it is going well. mexico is one of our leading trading partners.
7:22 pm
we need a port and the structure that allows commerce to flow smoothly. we are working like product line -- working on projects like ore-inspection -- like pre- inspection. we are working on trusted programs.and shppeipper i think that border, the most frequently traversed border in the world, can and will serve as a model for how you manage a long, complex border to the economic advantage of both sides. >> we also have those issues on the canadian border and at our ports. one of the things i am proud of for my service in congress was the state ports act.
7:23 pm
it had the same idea -- laird security as far out as possible. -- layered security as far out as possible. so there would not be a slowdown in lending commerce travel through the u.s. our ports are big feeders. >> the port of los angeles, look at the ripple effect when the car goes stops -- the cargo stops. our department is homeland security but a lot of our work needs to be done internationally. and is done internationally. we know of folks in 75 countries, we are negotiating agreements all the time with other countries on how we do these things, how we make agreements for how acrgo will be handled -- for how cargo will
7:24 pm
be handled. that creates an international security net that enables us to look forward to greater ease in the commercial side and on the travel side that we have ever had. >> that is urgent given some of the threats that have almost been pulled off against our country. int people with bombs ni th their shoes, etc. and making sure we know who is boaring our airplanes -- who is boarding our airplanes is critical. i want to stay on this subject of terrorism and counter- terrorism. there is a lot of unrest in malia nd algeria -- in mali and algeria. why do those events affect your department and jurisdiction?
7:25 pm
>> when you think about the world today, the post arab spring world, we have -- >> i am not sure it's post. he arab spring in te summer, maybe. the developments across north africa have huge implications for the united states. to give you one example -- any time you had areas where there is no rule of law and where there is no government, you have a place where al qaeda or al qaeda type affiliate's can take root. as we have those places, they feed things -- they see things. they see plots, they contemplate plot against the
7:26 pm
united states. just because they have not had a major terrorist attack in the homeland in the last few years does not mean that we can seal ourselves off from the rest of such an attack. we live in a world where what happened in north africa and country that people may not have even heard of before really can have a direct impact, whether you live in washington, d.c., los angeles or any place in between. >> we also have homegrown terrorists and so called lone wolves. when we are dealing with american citizens inside our country, there is a different rate that applies. our constitution and our fourth amendment. aseptic that where that line is between
7:27 pm
freedom of expression, protected by our first amendment, freedom to express views that probably none of us in this room would approve of. that is protected and then there is in line and then it is an expression of views that cause of violent behavior. action that are violent, which are not protected. interceding at that line is a hard part. what is the answer? >> i think one of the advances we have made it to take the concept of homeland security and recognize that through better information staring and training, we can empower state and local law enforcement to be ground.d ears on tehe we have created infusion centers to help us with that of permission sharing.
7:28 pm
we have created a training curriculum. we are looking at cases of homegrown violence to educate us about what were the early indicators and behavior's? what did we see with say for example -- norway. you remember that tack. -- that attack. there are lessons to be learned there, there are lessons to be learned from aurora, and the attack in newtownl . the lessons are what are the early indicators that someone is moving beyond a free-speech issue into actually wanting to commit an act of violence? it is not a science, it is an art. it requires judgment. we're very cognizant of privacy and civil liberties and the rest.
7:29 pm
we are in the process of creating a much better weaving together of state and local law- enforcement with what we can do of the federal level. >> i agree with that and would point out that under the 2004 intelligence reform law -- we created a privacy in -- privacy and civil liberties commission. it has taken forever to get people appointed and it is still not fully functioning but it actually finally has members. the point of that exercise was that at the front end a policy making, to factor in privacy and civil liberty considerations as we come up with appropriately tough security measures. it is not a zero sum game. you need more are less of both. >> right. he nailed it. you have to think about privacy issues at the beginning.
7:30 pm
they are not an afterthought. i think we were the first apartment in the obama administration to have a presidentially appointed privacy officer. we have a large privacy office. they are at the table helping us. it is very practical stuff. we collect information, who can we share it with, how long, for what purpose? can it be purpose their privacy implications about that. a number of other examples of how we embed privacy considerations into the work we do. >> our country is strong because we protect civil liberties and a perfect security. not because they protect one of them and not the other. >> these are our values. that is correct. >> final question during the are both in a field dominated by men -- final question.
7:31 pm
we are both in a field dominated by men. you are the first secretary of homeland security who happens to be a woman. what and do you haev -- what advice tdo do you have for young women getting into the security field? get at it. it is interesting, challenging, and you can serve the public in a way the cannot serve that any other guard. >> here, here! anyone disagree with that? if so, leave the room. [laughter] we are now turning to questions from you. please identify yourself. wait for the mic. we have about 20 minutes. i want to mention -- there are
7:32 pm
members of our advisory group until the room -- group in the room. [lists names] it is an amazing list. it is a tribute to you, my friend because of these people care intensely about our homeland security and value the opportunity to help advise. questions? right here.
7:33 pm
please identify.. >> hi. global security news wire. can you tell us how close the department is to's meeting amended the one under% of boren corridor be scanned -- how close the department is to 100% scanning. >> i looked into this issue very early -- very thoroughly. as we have grown and become more knowledgeable about how to manage risk, we have recognized that mandates like that sound very good but it is extraordinarily expensive and there are better and more efficient ways to accomplish the
7:34 pm
same results. we have a number of things about the world. that is what i meant to the negotiation of international agreements and the like. those are the kinds of things that make it -- make us all thatt we are doing wha can be done to minimize the risk that dangerous cargo will enter the united states. with respect to dndo, one of their achievements last year was to implement in nuclear architecture -- a nuclear architecture for the safety of the country. we do not want to share some of that affirmation but there is constantly developing technology. >> i am a consultant in the
7:35 pm
national security arena. there was an editorial hamdi tsa -- an editorial on the tsa program that argued it was unequal. and that it should be abolished. does this argument threaten the program? >> no, in fact -- here is the thing. i just talked about managing risk. one of the big developments over the last year's -- last few years is we do not need to treat every cargo the same, or every passenger the same. we can begin looking at risk or travelers we need to know more about versus those that have already given us information. as we have been able to link systems with the airlines, as we
7:36 pm
have been able to have airports install the right types of equipment, you h avave seen the pre-check program already expand. about 8% of passengers are in it. our goal is to get to half the passengers having some kind of pre-check capability within the next two years. that deals with the argument about being an equal but our goal from a security standpoint is to try to take the pressure off the line so we can focus on those we need to know more about. >> i am the check in massacre. -- the czech ambassador.
7:37 pm
[indiscernible] >> the executive order will help on some things. setting forth how we interact with the private sector by others. it cannot create any kind of overreaching statutory authority. it cannot amend current statute to better equip us if you want to know how to deal with it. the executive order can go so far but congress will need to act. this is an area that the more congress understands, the more when they are to take this up. my hope and efforts will be
7:38 pm
towards moving legislation this year. >> madam secretary, i am with the wilson center. can you give us an explanation of what prompted the withdrawal of the four bodies scanners at airports and when they might expect a replacement? >> we are not withdrawing all of the scanners. we are withdrawing one type of scanner. those scanners are very valuable because aviation remains a threat. we cannot put scanners in airports for our health in that sense -- we do not put scanners in our airports for our health in that sense. the purpose is to deal with the known threat -- our adversaries remain focused on aviation, be it cargo or passenger.
7:39 pm
they are increasingly sophisticated about the types of things they want to do. the scanners better enable us to see her non metallic explosive material. the was a privacy concerns raised with one type of scanner because it had a smudged photographic image as opposed to the congress now requires, and software that gives you a stick figure and then point out some anomalies trade one type of scanner was able to get the software in. ome anomalies. one type a scanner was able to get the software in. >> i am from the council of
7:40 pm
foreign relations. when might we se from dhs additional releases of data but in the coming immigration reform debate? these overstay rates -- visa overstate rakes. it would help counter the perception that visa overstay remains a massive problem. the second is data on the effectiveness of the consequence programs at the border. most of the people being apprehended by border patrol are going through some kind of consequence program. are these effective the that of preventing people from trying again? >> right. we are preparing some of that data in the likelihood that conference -- comprehensive immigration reform comes up.
7:41 pm
what we have done is to -- done to identify visa overstays in the last 18 months is significant. a lot of individuals actually left the country. we just did not have a good record of that. one of the other things we're adding is an enhanced exit system that will ivgive us a better sense of who is actually leaving. with respect to consequence delivery, you're right. we are past the time where we do turn away is at the border. if you are found, he go into different models of consequence. -- you go into different models of consequence. we are keeping track of that. our consequence delivery program will have data available for the cir debate.
7:42 pm
>> there is still a lot of mistrust about that. it will be extremely helpful. >> i agree. we need to educate members about what really is happening on immigration and the border. the perception and reality are two different things. at thean intern here woodrow wilson center. i have a question regarding the drone attacks. the targeted killing of al alaqi risch the lot of questions. president obama has stressed that [indiscernible] is not equal to process.
7:43 pm
what kind of legislation as congress working on and do you think there will be changed in the second term of president obama? on the targeted killing of u.s. citizens, specifically. >> i think what we have done is to use a technology now available to target those who are seeking to do harm to the united states. there is a legal and for structure around it -- infrastructre around it. let's not forget that awlaki --
7:44 pm
was one of the key perpetrators of forming an attack against the united states. >> i mentioned in my opening remarks that john brennan came here to explain there is a legal framework ar. we administration -- the administration is developing a counter-terrorism playbook. we are aware that some of the congress want to see the legal memoranda that has been prepared by the obama justice department explaining the policy around targeting american citizens abroad. it is a careful policy. i personally think as a former member of congress that in a classified setting, those memos should be made available to congress.
7:45 pm
there should be a public discussion of not all the details but of the general subject. i am pleased to raise it -- it is the kind of thing the wilson center does. we want to have conversations around tough security issues. other questions? >> thank you. i and the ambassador of costa rica. ambassador of costa rica. our country is doing well on the security and economic front of your fighting with institutions that put a lot of -- fighting
7:46 pm
with other institutions. we are the conduit to the u.s. stock market drug market -- the u.s. drug market. your department, is working hard with us and i appreciate it. i does what your assessment on progress made. are you optimistic -- i just want your assessment on progress made. are you optimistic? >> in my judgment, we need to have a western hemisphere. place is like condors are much higher and among the highest in
7:47 pm
the world. the drug group comes right through there. i think this is an area where the united states and mexico can and should work together with central america in terms of trying to strengthen institutions, to capacity building, and try to shut that drug down. >> you keep warning of cyber 9/11. what can we as individuals due to be better prepared in the event of this? >> one of the things every individual can do -- everyone on the net is a potential of opening to read the internet is a great thing. it has empowered the world, and makes knowledge available, it
7:48 pm
is a phenomenon. we does want to ram -- make sure it remains safe and free -- we just want tomake sure it remains safe and free. we use the phrase stop, think, connect. they are trying to push that into young kids. i think with respect to your question, every individual practicing good cyber hygiene. if we could make it as ordinary as making sure you buckle your seat belt, there are things to do before you get on the net, that would be a significant advance terry >> the technology is changing hourly and it is hard to think ahead of these things.
7:49 pm
the ability to recruit smart people, especially kids who can think ahead of the bad guys is crucial. >> that's right. so if any of them are watching this, first, go to class. secondly, what we have found in our recruitment efforts is the work itself is such a value. being able to participate in the security of the nation is a big deal. i think that we encourage young people to keep that in mind. >> we have 10 minutes left. i will take two more questions than i will invite anyone from our advisory group and then the secretary will wrap up. >> i am with the wilson center
7:50 pm
madam secretary, i think you have correctly highlighted the cyber threat. we have prime threats in our streets and have a policeman out there. in the cyber field, we are constantly told about threats but people are victims of the threat, we get viruses and attacks on our computers all the time. we do not see any visible evidence of the people going after the perpetrators. some of the threats come from misguided domestic people, some come from foreign sources or from foreign governments. is our legal framework, do we need international agreements on what is permissible and what is not permissible in terms of what government should and should not be in doing? there is no 911 number to send infected things off.
7:51 pm
my sense is we need a more publi evidence that there is an agency addressing these problems. could you address this problem? i constantly hear about threats and i do not see any visible evidence of who is going after them? >> who is going after the threats -- it is the fbi, the secret service, homeland security investigations. it is state authorities in some respects. the point you make about the international framework and the global nature of these things is a very important. i think you're exactly right. we do not have an adequate framework for dealing with some of this. there have been attempts, there
7:52 pm
are some things going on right now. in terms of the world coming together and reaching an agreement on some conventions to be used with the internet is concerned, we are not there. the idea of an internet 911, that is a neat idea. i had not thought about that. that would be something i think our shop would take into account. takethink i'm going to that back. >> you but upton it chairman of the committee. he said one of his plans is to fix dhs. do you think the dhs need to be fixed and are you worried about having to work with the new congress and chairman? >> i have met with the new chairman. i think what he means is we want to continue to integrate, improve, to drive some of the issues we have discussed this morning forward. be it cyber security, and
7:53 pm
immigration system that matches our current needs, counter- terrorism and its morphing forms, we look forward to working with him and the new chair of the senate committee to keep moving these things forward. when you think about the major issues that are in discussion in the country. there are the fiscal issues but then you get to the immigration reform, cyber security, gun violence. those are all in the wheelhouse of the department of homeland security. we are going to be in the middle of a national dialogue of three critical issues. we will work with congress on those and with the public. >> an un-finished piece of business monday 9/11 commission was a call from congress to reorganize itself -- business
7:54 pm
from the 9/11 commission was a call from congress to reorganize itself. congress has not done that. with anyone who is a member of our advisory committee like to make a comment -- would anyone who is a member of our advisory committee like to make a comment? yes, right here. >> i am with exxon mobile. we talked earlier this morning about the cyber security information sharing and collaboration program. i wanted to acknowledge that again, from our perspective, that program is critical. it is working well. it gives us an opportunity to work closely with dhs personnel
7:55 pm
and understand what their needs are so they can understand our needs. we said earlier that be on the domestic homeland security, you deal internationally. is there an opportunity to take a program like that and share it in other parts of the world so that we have the same opportunities as organizations and as a country to learn what is going on and have those types of information sharing communications that are so important? >> i think there is. exchanging information sharing, we can do bilaterally, multi laterally. there have been sessions already with our eu partners on doing exactly that. one interesting aspect you raised is those have not necessarily included the private sector or the critical
7:56 pm
infrastructure sectors. expanding the aperture to do that would make sense. >> in our last few minutes, thank you offer very important questions. secretary naplitano, as the content your future -- as you think about your future and some of the unfinished business, what is your highest priority? >> i think when i look at where i will be spending my time, aside from the management integration type issues, i think the coming immigration debate is something that we will be deeply involved in. we have deep and wide experience in those issues.
7:57 pm
cyber, we have already mentioned. then the constantly evolving types of terrorists threats and hamdi can better educate ourselves -- and how we can better educate ourselves, trained law enforcement, ascertain from history and otherwise what are better ways to identify behavior's indicate -- in take up potential violence, those are the things that concern me -- ways to identify and behaviors tht indicate potential violence, those are the things that concern me. we have created this huge asset, the department integrates what previously had been 22 different agencies. now we are not just about
7:58 pm
connecting the dots but finding the patterns and analyzing what are the dangers to the security of the people of united states, thet are the highest oncees, ones that are best are better managed now and the like. i will focus on the three issues i just described, not to the exclusion of everything else -- not in exclusion of everything else. >> thank you for that. thank you for your service. the wilson center will continue to look far out there, too. on how should our country manage the second decade after 9/11. there are some important questions still to ask. what are our values and are we getting it right?
7:59 pm
these are questions many of you think about. we will haeve more national conversations on these issues. we are grateful that you came here. this is your first look out on the horizon speech in this calendar year. we are honored by your presence at following this session, we are moving to our advisory group where you will spend time with us talking about these and other issues. to everyone, thank you for being thoughtful, thank you for being in the policy debate and thank you for coming to the wilson center. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]
8:00 pm
>> president obama and joe biden at the national prayer service. the >> one dare after their inauguration president obama and vice president biden attended a prayer service. this is 90 minutes.
8:01 pm
8:02 pm
8:03 pm
8:04 pm
8:05 pm
8:06 pm
8:07 pm
8:08 pm
>> [speaking span nish spanish] >> it is our great pleasure to extend a warm and big welcome to everyone to this house of prayer for all people. >> although we have distinct
8:09 pm
traditions and speak different languages we share goodwill for the entire community. >> welcome to your house. >> god be merciful unto us and bless us. >> that your words may be known upon earth. let the people praise you oh god. blessed be the one holy and living god.
8:10 pm
>> look grashely mighty god upon this land, where it is in pride, subdue it, where it is in need, supply it, where it is in error recollect fy it. where it is in default, restore it. and where it holdses to that which is just and compassionate toward the poor and vulnerable of every race and background in our nation, support it. in the mighty and mat tress name of jesus i pray, amen.
8:11 pm
♪ ♪
8:12 pm
>> seek the lord who wills to
8:13 pm
be found. call upon the lord who draws near. let the wicked foresake their ways and the evil ones their thoughts and let them turn to the lord who will have compassion and to our god who will richly pardon. for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. for as rain and snowfall from the heavens and return not again but water the earth
8:14 pm
bringing forth life and giving growth, seed for sewing and bread for eating, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which i have purposed and prosper in that for which i sent it. the word of the lord. gracious is the lord and
8:15 pm
richeyouse. the lord watches over and calls upon us to watch over the innocent. turn again to your rest my soul . for you have rescued my life from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. i believed even when i said i have been brouth so low. how shall i repay the lord for all the good that he has done
8:16 pm
for me? i will fulfill my vows to the lord in the presence of all god's people.
8:17 pm
♪ ♪
8:18 pm
8:19 pm
8:20 pm
♪ ♪
8:21 pm
8:22 pm
8:23 pm
>> faithful god, accept the prayers of all your people in the multitude of your mercies, look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help. for you are gracious oh lover of souls. let us pray for those charged with the governance of our nation. strengthen the hearts of our president bra rack and our vice president joseph, make them bold for the work you have set before them. grant them wisdom to discern your will and to consider your word among the council they
8:24 pm
receive. up hold them that they may discharge their duties in the full light of your divine grace. keep this nation under your care. give courage to the senators and members of the house of representatives to hear the people's voice and to provide for the common good. give them the vision to care for your creation. lead them to willingly fulfill our obligations and responsibilities in the community of nations. keep this nation in your care. stir up the passion and rev rans of the justices of the
8:25 pm
supreme court for the rule of law and the way of justice. fill their deliberations with insight and their judgments with integrity as they act to secure human rights and the flourishing of responsible freedom. keep this nation under your care. >> a law oh lord, all those to whom we commit the government of this nation. give them the self-control necessary to our time. may they consider all calmly inserely and act wisely and promptly in all things. give them the desire to up hold
8:26 pm
the right, up holding the wrong and performing that which is just so that in all things your will may be done. let us pray to the lord. >> a reading from st. paul's second letter to the co-rinyans. >> it is god who said let light shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ.
8:27 pm
we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to god and does not come from us. we are affected in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair. persecuted but not foresaken, struck down but not destroyed. always carrying in the body the death of jesus so that the life of jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. the word of the lord.
8:28 pm
8:29 pm
♪ ♪
8:30 pm
♪ ♪
8:31 pm
8:32 pm
8:33 pm
♪ ♪
8:34 pm
8:35 pm
[applause]
8:36 pm
♪ ♪
8:37 pm
[singing]
8:38 pm
8:39 pm
>> all who call upon your name in the course of daily life, work and service. you call and gift us for work that brings us joy and embodies concern fur our neighbors.
8:40 pm
make us glad and greatful for the strength to serve you and our neighbor. let us pray for those who through any form of service offer themselves in devotion to our nation. >> almighty god, we commend to your care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. grant them a sense of your abiding presence, strengthen them in every trial and temptation, defend them in places of danger and pearl. sustain them in they are dedication. give us grace to do your will in all we undertake. god of creation, we pray for all who work in places of danger, who rush in to bring
8:41 pm
help and comfort, who offer hope when others flee to safety. keep them under your watchful eye that they may continue to save lives, ease pain and by their presence mend the torn fabric of lives in social order. give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake. almighty god, bless your people who govern in every place, snill in the leaders of every state, school bords, counties and cities and agencies with a disposition to use their thaurt for the betterment of all people of this nation. in the name of jesus give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake.
8:42 pm
>> dive to all the people of our land, oh god, the desire to serve you in their life and vocation. may your presence be manifest in all that we say and do. we've together the work of every hand and commitment of every heart. for we recognize our interdependence, our responsibilities to one another and the mute alty of our destiny. let us pray to the lord.
8:43 pm
>> a reading from the gospel according to matthew. jesus said you are the assault of the earth. -- the salt of the earth. but if salt has lost its taste, how can saltness be good. it is no longer good for anything. but it is thrown out and thrampled under foot. you all are the light of the world. a city built on a hill cannot be hid and no one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the
8:44 pm
lamp stand and it gives light to all in the house. in this same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven. the word of the lord.
8:45 pm
[singing]
8:46 pm
>> god of love. help us widen the boundaries of our hearts. you know us better than we know
8:47 pm
ourselves. the distinctions we make, the biases we hold, the ways in which we fail to manifest our greatest potential as we diminish ourselves and others with our impatience, lack of hope. give depth to our faith. let our actions bear witness to the expansiveness of your mercy. grant us the grace to love our neighbors and to love ourselves. we pray that you bring your presence among us as light, as life and as holy inspiration. >> challenge us, oh god, that even as we love our own country , you would have us develop a global perspective in your eyes , the world is our
8:48 pm
neighborhood. grant us every necessary grace to love our neighbors as ourselves. open our eyes to see the life giving and the good in every person and in every place. and as neighbors become friends, may we work to restore the wonder of the world you have made. bless all who is lives are closely linked with ours. cause us to put our bodies and sowls in motion in the spirit of our brother martin on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised, the worn and the weary, the produced and the aflicted and renew our capacity for mercy.
8:49 pm
fashion in us a dream for our time powerful enough to transform the lives of all those who you love and for the well being of all that you have made. bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours. call us to join the artists and the artisans, the preachers and the prof fets, the laborers and the belabe board who hold aloft the lampover your truth in a world way too willing to settle for darkness. give us sufficient a heart for the newness that you would bring that alllesser things will fail to satisfy. bless those who is lives are closely linked with ours.
8:50 pm
>> open our hearts, god of all, to pray for those who will this day face any great decisions. for all who will engage in settling the affairs of peoples and of nations, for all who mold public opinion in our time, for all who write what others will read, send us forth to work another day surrounded by your loving kindness pledged in faithful service, standing in your strength and not our own. as former things pass away, oh god, make all things new. let us pray to the lord.
8:51 pm
♪ ♪
8:52 pm
8:53 pm
8:54 pm
>> you may be seated. >> mr. president, mad dam first lady, vice president and dr. biden. it's a privilege to be with you today and to be sharing on this the second inauguration. over the last two weeks i've been praying a lot, god what would you have me say to these remarkable people. and the first thing god wanted me to say was thank you. a friend of mine once told me there are three reasons why people seek public office. the first is there are some who want to feel important and they want all the power it afford them. then there is the second group and those are off in the head.
8:55 pm
then there is a third group who really want to make a difference and change the world for the better. and i believe that represents you and all of you in this administration and the leadership in our country. we americans say it seldom but we should say it far more often, thank you for giving yourselves for sacrificing and living in glass houses and accepting the constant criticism with very little praise. for being willing to risk everything in order to serve this country, thank you. [applause] this month mark it is 150 an verse si of the emancipation proclamation. as ives thinking of script
8:56 pm
chures to reflect on i thought of the emancipation story and the man name months says. as we reflect on his life i'd like to lift up three ideas from his life that might speak to all of us today as leaders in our country and i hope in some way speak to those of you in highest authority in our land. i begin with the heart and character. there are two things we learn about his heart and character in the script chures. numbers tells us that the man was a humble man, more humble than any other man on the face of the earth. god chooses and uses those who humble themselves before him and before others. young mary, the mother of jesssuss said those scatter their hearts but lifts up the lowly. jesssuss turns to his i did
8:57 pm
sipeles and says to them, you don't understand that's how the kings of the world operate, but that's not how you operate. the first among you, the one who will be great will be your servant. then he washed at their feet. now his humidity was coupled with a deep compassion and concern for the marg na liesed and oh prosed. he was raised in pharoah's palace. when we saw the plight of the hebrew slaves he could not remain in silence and could not remain in the palace. ultimately he risked his life. he led them into the wilderness towards the promise land. this is what god looks for in the sprickchures from every king, every rabbi, every leader, he looks for those who will take seriously the call to
8:58 pm
justice, to do kindness, to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. james says true religion is to care for the widows and the orphans and jesus says at the last judgment it all comes down to how did you respond to the needs of the least of these. this is america at our best. at our best, we are a humble people and we remember the call to have passion for the least of these. that is why it's etched inside the sought of liberty give me your tired and poor, the send these the homeless to me. i lift my lamp beside the golden door. humility and compassion for the oh pressed are central to the heart and character and are meant to be central to the heart and character of this
8:59 pm
nation. the second thing we learn is the importance of having a vision. a professor retired from harvard business school noted tasks of any important leader are to cast a vision for the too much and to inspire people to pursue it. it has to be a clear picture of where we want to go, a preferred picture of the future. he led the slaves out of egypt but that was not enough. quickly they began to desire to go back to egypt. the wilderness was hard. he had to constantly remind them of the vision. he said here marching to the promise land, a land flowing with milk and honey. where we can live in harmony. a compelling vision yuan fice us. it leads people to a
9:00 pm
willingness to sacrifice and a sense of purpose. carter a compelling vision, at least. this came as true of local churches. congregations across the country that do not remember their purpose and no longer see a compelling vision for the future. sadly, this feels true of america today. with our two party system, it often feels like political rhetoric. we typically are offered two different visions competing with one another, not one unifying vision. too many americans we feel like a house divided that cannot stand. we find ourselves desperately longing to find a common ground, a common vision, to be one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for everyone. in the city, and in this room,
9:01 pm
are the people who can help. this may be, this burning together our country, a more important issue than -- bringing together our country, a more important issue than any we face. we will find it to the cult dissolve any other problems we are facing. debt ceilings, issues of healthcare. proverbs notes this, without a vision, the people perish. they do not literally perish. they just bicker and fight and become so polarized they cannot get anything done. we are in need of a new common, national vision. not once only democratic or solely republican. we need at least one goal where we can come together. that is where we need to go. god has given you a unique gift, mr. president.
9:02 pm
you have the ability to cast vision and inspire people. you should have been a preacher. [laughter] [applause] god actually has you exactly where god wants you. yesterday you begin to lay out a vision for us in your inaugural address was very powerful and compelling. somewhere we have got to find and forge one or two that dreams or visions that people on the right and they left, republicans and democrats, can come together and back hands on this. you hinted towards that yesterday. we have to remember our picture of the promised land. when we do that, anything is possible in america. i offer one small example of the power of vision from the church i serve in kansas city. one of our visions is to address the root causes of poverty in kansas city, so that our city that looked more like
9:03 pm
the kingdom of god that jesus preached about. when we begin to ask, what we learned was that the one thing everyone agrees upon is early childhood education. so we had a vision that we would work together with the public schools in kansas city to find a way to give the 200 -- 2284 children a chance for a better future. we partnered with the schools, we said, we do not have the answers but we offer ourselves as servants. how can we help? this last year, 2500 members volunteered in the schools. we build playgrounds at six schools where they did not have them. we repainted the inside of the schools where they did not have money to do so. our members volunteered as tutors to read to the children. we purchased 20,000 books and given to the children. when we found out that 1400 children were coming to school hungry on monday, because they
9:04 pm
did not have lunch at home, we started providing accpac for children -- backpacks for children with nutritious food in them. when we learned that 300 children fleet on the floor or on the couch in their homes, we provided 300 eggs. -- beds. on christmas eve -- [applause] the biggest night of the year at our church, we voted a number of years ago to give away the entire christmas eve offering to a project benefiting children in poverty. we challenged our members to give an offering equal to what they spend on their own children. we give half of it to project benefiting the 2284 children in kansas city. on christmas eve, our folks
9:05 pm
gave $1,235,000 to these projects. [applause] i mention that, not to brag, though i am very proud. that is one congregation with one vision. that unifies us as a church. there are democrats and republicans in our congregation. now, these kinds of visions bullets together into the future. -- pull us together into the future. the last word i would mention, regarding moses, is that despite great opposition to his leadership, and feeling discouraged many times, he never gave up. to be a leader is to invite criticism. if you are a sunday school teacher, they will criticize you. if you are a supervisor at mcdonald, they will criticize you. if you are a preacher, they will criticize you. and i do not know how you are still standing. [laughter] it was not long after moses
9:06 pm
began to lead the children of israel out of egypt that they began to grumble against his leadership. they dislikein, his policies so much, they tried to vote him out of office. somehow he managed to keep his job. in number chapter 11, there is an endearing story of moses. he goes to the wilderness and lifts up his hands in praise, god, just kill me now. i do not want to do this anymore. it is too hard. this was one time that god did not answer moses prayer area. he said, in essence, get back to work, i need you. i am room minded -- reminded of when dr. king received a threatening phone call. his children and wife were asleep. this was not his first threatening phone call. and the montgomery boycott, there had been many. on this night, as his children
9:07 pm
and love -- wife lay sleeping, he felt he could not go on. he began to think of a way he could gracefully bow out of the movement. at midnight, he bowed over the kitchen table and began to pray. i am afraid, lord. the people are looking to me for leadership. if i stand before them without strength and courage, a, to will falter. i am at the end of my powers, god. i have nothing left. i have come to the point where i cannot face it alone. then he describes something interesting that happened next. he said, i experienced the presence of the divine as i had never experienced god before. it seemed as though i could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying, you end up for righteousness. stand up for truth. and god will be at your side forever. imagine how the world would be
9:08 pm
different today if dr. king had bowed out of leadership because it got too hard. had he not stopped to pray that makes them feel god's reassurance. the name of this year's inauguration was faith in the future of america. in this service, we come together to a knowledge that in order for america to have a future, we first need to find a deep and abiding faith in god. it is this faith that calls and compels us to humility, compassion, concern for the nobodies. it is this faith that helps us discover the kind of vision that are worthy of our great nation and the sacrifices we can make. it is this faith that sustains us when we feel like giving up. a faith that comes from trusting in the words of jesus who said, i am with you always, even to the end of the age. i end with the story. during martin luther king weekend several weirs ago, i was
9:09 pm
listening to npr and an interview with reverend billy kyles who was with dr. king when he dialed. -- died. they asked what he would be preaching on that weekend. he told a story you have undoubtedly heard before, but it bears repeating. he said i will be telling the story about robert louis stevenson. the 19th-century author once told he was sitting in front of the window, watching the man lightly streetlamps. he would climb up and light the lamp with a torch and then take it down and go to the next one and the next one. and his father walked in the room and said, what are you looking at? what do you see out there that is so fascinating? and young stevenson said, i am watching that man out there not cold in the darkness. in the darkness.
9:10 pm
there is a lot of darkness in the world. lead us to a compassionate people. topless rediscover a vision for america that is so compelling that it unites us. -- help us rediscover a vision for america. when you feel your lowest. do not give up. wait upon the lord, he will renew your strength that you might lead us as a nation to knock old in the darkness. amen. [applause]
9:11 pm
9:12 pm
9:13 pm
9:14 pm
9:15 pm
[applause] >> almighty god, you have given us this good land as our heritage. make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will. bless our land with honest industry and an honorable way of life. save us from violence, discord, and confusion. from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. make us who come from many nations with many different languages a united
9:16 pm
people. defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. when times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful. in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. in your holy name we pray. amen. >> as we join our prayers with those of the people across the nation, so we say, each in our own language, the prayer that jesus taught us. our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
9:17 pm
a kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into tim tatian but deliver us -- temptation but deliver us from evil. for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. amen. >> ♪ ♪
9:18 pm
["america the beautiful"] ♪
9:19 pm
9:20 pm
9:21 pm
>> the lord. bless you and keep you. >> the holy one made god's face to shine upon you. and be gracious unto you. >> the lord, lift up his countenance upon you. >> [hebrew] and give you peace. >> would you kindly join hands with your neighbor? let us look to god.
9:22 pm
and i dreamed a dream. i saw a land, and on the hills walked men and women, boys and girls, hand in hand. they were diverse in background s, variegated in their humanity, yet they looked into each other's eyes and they were not afraid. and so i said to the one standing beside me, what is this? and the answer came, it is the kingdom of god. imbued with love and justice. and so i asked, where is this? and the reply came, it exists
9:23 pm
already in the hearts of those who have the courage to believe and struggle and so i asked, when is this? and the ringing reply was this, when we learn the simple art of loving one another as sisters and brothers. so teach us to love one another. ever mindful that the relaxation of love in the realm of the republic is justice and peace. as your servants, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. said from this very pulpits in his very last sunday sermon, we must all learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will all perish together as fools. we confess this day that we are tired, in a single garment of
9:24 pm
destiny. hot up in an inescapable network of destiny. what affects one directly affects all indirectly. this day we recommit ourselves to building the beloved community. gracious god, bless our president, barack obama, our vice president, joseph biden, and their families with good health and every spiritual grace. bless our congress and our courts. bless these united states of america. transform the jangling discourse of our nation into a beautiful symphony of the human family. through us, made the earth and all the families of the earth be
9:25 pm
blessed. to the god who loves us into freedom and freeze us into loving. -- frees us into loving, we offer this prayer. amen. [applause] ♪
9:26 pm
9:27 pm
9:28 pm
9:29 pm
>> next, from the national review summit, remarks from senator ted cruz. in a roundtable discussion on the future of the conservative movement. after that, another chance to see president obama and joe
9:30 pm
biden at the national prayer service. tomorrow, "washington journal" focuses solely on the role of our nation's governors. the role in the state and national issues. we will talk with reporters from florida and illinois about what the governors in those states are facing. we will hear from josh goodman and state trends and economic turnaround, regional connections, and the state's relationship with the federal government. as always, your calls and questions. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern, on c-span. now from the national review institute summit here in washington d.c., remarks by texas senator ted cruz. then >> i am so happy to introduce
9:31 pm
ted cruz. it's rather personal for me. he's an old friend and i've been waiting for years for him to run for office and win office and hold office, and the first time ted ran for office, the very first time, he landed in the u.s. senate, imagine that, and not from delaware, not from some other little state, not from a state with a low population, from the second most populous state, texas, a state teeming with veteran, seasoned politicians just burning to move up and here comes ted, no name, no offense, no wealth, no family connections and ted wins a seat in the u.s. senate. it's just thrilling. as i said, i've known him for a long time. he grew up in houston. his father is a cuban immigrant, rafael, he arrived in this country with just a slide rule in his pocket. the only thing they would let
9:32 pm
him take out. he was a teen. he had $100 sewn into his underwear by his mother. i don't think he would mind me saying he was a peculiar kid in high school the he joined up with a group called free enterprise and read hayek and all those types and he was part of a group called constitutional crobators, and these guys studied the constitutional -- constitution hard, talked about it to the civic groups, and ted goes to princeton where he is, get this, north american debate champion. not just u.s. but north american debate champion. goes to harvard law school. clerks for chief justice rehnquist. he had to learn to play tennis in order to have that clerkship
9:33 pm
because that's what rehnquist wanted. ted serves in the administration for a while, goes home to texas, serves as solicitor general, runs for the u.s. senate. first run for office, wins. he is a, if i way -- may use an old nixon phrase and thatcher phrase, he's one of us, by which i mean he's a reaganite, or reagan aut as dick allen said, he's what i call an all-rounder. i think it's a cricket term. he is a legal eagle of course. a free markeer. knows a lot about economics. a national security hawk. very knowledgeable about foreign policy. he is a, wish there were a better term for this, he's a social conservative. that term will have to do. and he's a hell of a guy. ladies and gentlemen, the new senator from texas, our, and
9:34 pm
capital r, rafael ted cruz. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> thank you so much. jay has been a dear friend a long, long time. i told jay please -- you know this past week was a momentous week -- oh, i need a mike? hello, hello. >> as they said in the 20 70 campaign, help is on the way. [laughter]
9:35 pm
so when the mike wasn't working i told all sorts of embarrassing secrets about jay nordlinger and i trust all of you got them in full lurid detail. this past week has been a momentous week. president obama was sworn in to a second term. i guess what made the news is beyonce apparently lip synced throughout the inaugural. not as widely reported was the fact that president obama did as well. who knew that his teleprompter could play music? we saw this week an ode to liberalism, unabashed, unapologetic, i have to say sitting there it occurred to me
9:36 pm
somewhere the sea must be rising now. and it is easy for us as conservatives to look at the november election and that exhult -- exultant, unabashed embrace of the left and to have a moment's despair. let me say this room is critical to preventing that to happen. "national review" has a lornings -- long, long history of standing athwart history and yelling "halt." we can stop this. we can turn it around and in fact i am right now incredibly, incredibly optimistic, as they say, it's always darkest before the dawn, that we are on the
9:37 pm
verge of a rebirth of conservativism. [applause] so what do we do? how do we make that happen? let me talk at two different levels. short-term and long term. short term let's talk about tactics on the ground. in washington, d.c. we have a president who's feeling his oats. he's reading his press releases and believes he is unstoppable. we have a democratic senate that are feeling their oats. they've read the kool-aid. let me give three bits of advice. and by the way, read the kool-aid would be just mangling, reading the press releases, drinking the kool-aid -- if they read the kool-aid it
9:38 pm
doesn't work nearly as well -- [laughter] let me give three concrete bits of advice to conservatives in washington, and in particular let me address this to our friends in the house of representatives. who i think for the next two years are the last bastion standing between us and oblivion. the first thing i would urge to every republican in the house of representatives is stop reading "the new york times." [applause] caffering -- cancel your description. -- subscription. the media is going to tell you, i'll sum it up, the next two years, the democrats are right, abandon conservative principles and abandon hope all ye who enter. their answer, and it will be their prescription on every
9:39 pm
single fight, hire is what conservatives and republicans need to do, abandon your principles and become democrats. listen, the very same american people that on november 7, 2012 went in and re-elected barack obama also reelected a majority to the house of representatives and they have every bit as much mandate from the american people that the president has. applause plass number two, in the short term what can we do? we can stop bad things. and stopping bad things is significant because they've got a whole lot of bad things that they want to have happen. the idea is listen to -- the ideas -- listen to that speech on the inaugural day, whether it is coming after our guns, which, oh, boy, they seem excited to do, whether it is
9:40 pm
exploding spending and debt and taxes even more, whether it is cap and trade, regulating our economy and raising the costs for every american, they are feeling emboldened right now. and if conservatives stand together, we can stop that, and stopping bad things that would harm this country, that would harm americans, is a major victory for the next two years. [applause] but the third thing we can do in the short term is we can use leverage points to plaque real progress on the fiscal and economic crisis threatening this country. the fundamental dynamic when you have divided government is that whichever side owns the default is in the stronger
9:41 pm
position. either party can stop anything. so whoever wins if nothing gets done, wins the negotiation, wins the battle. it's why on fiscal cliff we got such a lousy deal. because if nothing happened, the result was a massive tax increase on er american who pays taxes, and i think president obama was perfectly fine, he was serene to go off that cliff. why? because his substantive agenda, which he doesn't hide from, is to dramatically expand the size and power of government, and to do that, he needs to raise taxes. two major points are coming up. the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling. both of those are coming up in the next couple of months. those are leverage points that are the mirror image of the fiscal cliff.
9:42 pm
those are leverage points that if nothing passes the result is not a default on the debt. that's scare hmongering from the president. the -- scaremongering from the president. those are temporary partial shutdowns. we've seen that before in 1995 when republicans stood together, and the result was some political pain, to be sure, but it was also year after year of balanced budgets and some of 9 most fiscally responsible policies from congress we have seen in modern times. [applause] the only hope of getting anything affirmative done is requesting to come from those leverage points because president obama has indicated, sadly, he has no interest in being bill clinton. he has no interest in tacking to the middle. he has no interest in compromising with anybody, and
9:43 pm
the only way we're going to restrain the out of control spending and debt that's threatening our future is to use those leverage points to force real solutions. so that's the short term. what about the long term? what about strategically? or as "saturday night live" would put it, what about strategery? this is where the men and women in this room ever -- are so utterly critical. why did we lose in 2012? we lost because we didn't win the argue ume. margaret thatcher famously said, first you win the argument, then you whin the vote. what do we do long term? we've got to win the argument and i'm going to suggest two words that every republican in
9:44 pm
this country should have tattooed on their forearm to read on any speech -- growth and opportunity. let's talk about them one at a time. growth. there was a time when republicans were unabashedly the party of growth. we need to return to that. since world war ii our economy's grown an average of 3.3%. under barack obama in the last four years it grew 1.5%. less than half the historic average. if we don't get growth back, none of these problems get fixed. if we can get back to historic averages of growth, 3%, 4%, 5%, every one of these challenges we're talking about is transformed.
9:45 pm
the 23 million people who are struggling to find jobs? the only way they get jobs is growth. the train wreck that is our federal balance sheet? the only way it gets fixed is if there's growth. if we see 4% growth, which is very close to the historic average over the last 200 years, 4% growth in a decade will produce 10 million new jobs. 4% growth in a decade will produce $3 trillion in additional tax revenue to pay down deficits and the debt. by the way, that is more than barack obama hopes to get through his massive tax increases. there's more revenue through growth than there ever could be through tax increases, which is one of the ways, by the way, when i'm debating those on the left and they say they're for
9:46 pm
revenue, i inevitably agree. i'm for roirve, too. the best way to have revenue, i say, sit down with those in the business sector and i say i'd love to double your taxes. they look at me and think, did i come to the wrong meeting? i say i'd love for next year your profits to double and you would happily write twice as big a tax check. up want to pay down our debt, get the economy roaring, get people back to work, 4% growth for a decade, 3 million people would rise out of poverty and be standing on their own feet. we need to be unjet lick -- un jetically -- unalocal jetically the party of growth. we need to get back to growth and number two, we need to get back to opportunity. you know, if you could sum up what went wrong last election, i think it comes down to two
9:47 pm
words. 47%. now, by that i don't mean that ill-fated committee -- comment. i think mitt romney is a good man. he worked very, very hard. he is a decent man of character. anyone can have a slip of the tongue. what i mean by 47% is the narrative of the last election. the narrative of the last election was that the 47% who are dependent on government, we don't have to worry about you. that is the entire idea of the democrats. it buys into the idea that the economic spy fixed, static, that it never changes. and you know what? if they're right about that,
9:48 pm
then suddenly redistribution makes a whole lot more sense. if the pie is never changing, why should some have dramatically more than others? that's the reason -- but the reason they're so inkaberle -- incredibly wrong is as conservatives we understand this is a dynamic pie. it's a growing pie. it's where growth connects to opportunity. the reason those 47% are not going to be the same 4% tomorrow. -- 47% tomorrow. republicans are and should be the party of the 47%. for ofe a decade i have been fighting for something i call opportunity conservativism. now, what does that mean? that means that every domestic policy we as conservatives think about, talk about, fight about, should be focused like a laser on opportunity. on easing the means of assent
9:49 pm
-- ascent up the economic ladder. that should be the focus of every single policy. we should view it through the lens of how does this impact those if he bottom of the economic ladder? and listen, our policies work. the other side's don't. and yet painfully, so many republicans don't seem to understand that. let me suggest an experiment to you. the next time you're watching television and you see a republican politician come on tv and the topic of race or class comes up, turn off the volume. most republicans think we're wrong. if you look at their body language, republican politicians are saying please stop talking about these
9:50 pm
issues, can we talk about capital zpwhains i can talk about capital gains. i have to tell you every time that happens i want to put my boot through the television set. i've had to buy a lot of tv sets. our policies work! why is it that for two centuries, millions of people have come from all over the world to the united states? because we are a land that allows unlimited opportunity. it allows people with nothing to work to achieve anything. and the policies of the left, you know, there's a fabulous article that ran in national review, written by my friend mario loyola, called "a tale of two cities." it talked about detroit and houston. in the 1950's detroit was a bigger city, a more prosperous city. many would have said a better
9:51 pm
place to live than houston. i can't imagine why, but there are some that would have said that. and over the next 0 years the two cities pursued fundamentally different economic policies. one a free market policy that encouraged free markets and temperature neutral zone and small business and the other that followed a collectivist vision and if you look at tragedy ectories of both cities, it's a perfect lesson of what works and -- policy 0 -- policies work and what don't. i'm happy to go into any school in america and say look, if you want to go with the democrats, they can bring you the success they've had in detroit. [applause] every single policy we talk about should be framed from the perspective of opportunity, whether it's something like school choice, which i think is
9:52 pm
the civil rights issue of the next generation, but you know, school choice, what it's fundamentally about is bringing competition to improve public schools and providing hope and opportunity for kids that are trapped and being denied a fair shot at the american dream. whether it's something like social security, personal accounts, which as much as republicans love to put on our green eyeshades and talk about solvency, far more important is the ability of those at the bottom of the economic ladder to accumulate resources and assets that they can use to pass on to their kids and grandkids to buy a home, to start a business, to get an education. whether it is taxed did, taxes and regulation. let me give a perfect example. one of the best slogans that came out of this last campaign was "you built that." and it was in response to
9:53 pm
barack obama's terrible but revealing comment, "you didn't built about -- build that, you didn't build that small business. "that was one of the best moments of the last campaign. but i wish we'd taken a different tack on it because that was a slogan that was aimed at the 53%. it was aimed at business owners, at people who had already gotten there. i think our message should have been "you can build that." because what barack obama was saying to everyone struggling to climb the economic ladder is you can't build that. listen, i don't really care who built the corporate titans and giants of today. one of the biggest lies of politics is the lie that republicans are the party of big business. big business loves big government. big business is very, very happy to get in bed with big
9:54 pm
government to hire an army of lobbyists and tax attorneys and to entrench their power. we should be the party of small businesses, of entrepreneurs, of the next person starting a business in his garage that's going to topple those giant corporations. [applause] our policies work, and they're right. you know, in the last four years, hispanic unemployment climbed to over 10%. african-american unemployment climbed to over 14%. everyone is talking about the demographics of this last election and how it means republicans are doomed, doomed for all eternity. the policies of the obama administration have fundamentally failed the
9:55 pm
communities that are struggling to climb the economic ladder. and yet how many republicans said that even once? how many republicans were willing to go into communities and say look, if you want to work towards the american dream, let me talk very briefly about the hispanic community. right now there are a lot of political consultants say the -- saying the answer on the hispanic community is all about immigration. we just need to run and embrace the policies of the democrats and that will cure the electoral problem. i'll tell you what our polling has shown. hispanic voters in texas, we asked what's your number one issue? immigration was at 5%. jobs and the economy was at 54%. but -- what our polling showed is the reason hispanics didn't vote for republicans was because of 47%.
9:56 pm
it was because they said republicans are the party of the rich, those that already have theirs and that ain't me yet. now let me give you something that should be very encouraging. there are 2.3 million hispanic small business owners in this country. that's roughly one in 10 house holds. hispanic community, we are an incredibly entrepreneurial community, but republicans have to learn to carry the message that the avenue for climbing the economic ladder has always been the ability to create a business, to go and work and provide for your family. the message of the left is a message of dependency. it's a message of control and, dependency is not bad primarily because of the public fisc.
9:57 pm
it's bad because of the impact it has on those who become trapped in a cycle of dependency. i challenge you to find any grandmother who says she wants her grandkids to be dependent on government going forward. we are an optimistic people. you know, the same polling we did in texas found 77% of hispanics believe their children or grandchildren will have material wealth. we are an optimistic people. it's who we are, and republicans need to get back to our core principles of growth and opportunity because our ideas work and their ideas don't. i want to close with one final word of encouragement. which is, these are dark days, but we've seen dark days before. a lot of folks in this room who remember the late 1970's. 19 8, 1979.
9:58 pm
those were dismal times. double-digit unemployment. 22% interest rates. gas lines. our hostages languishing in iran for 444 days. those were dark times. if you were a conservative in 1978, 1979, there was not a lot of reason to be optimistic. if you were a conservative in 1978 and 19 much -- 1979 the "new york times" was saying abandon hope, become a liberal. and yet it it took jimmy carter to give us ronald reagan. and i remain convinced the most significant long-lasting legacy of barack obama is going to be a new generation of leaders in the republican party standing up and fighting for principles. [applause]
9:59 pm
look at the leaders who have been here this weekend. look at paul ryan. look at scott walker. look at ken cuccinelli. look at tom cotton. a new generation of leaders who understand conservative principles are right, conservative principles work. i like to refer to this generation as the children of reagan. because all of us were kids when reagan was president. and his model of optimistic, positive leadership bringing people together and understanding that our principles work and create opportunity, opportunity for those climbing the ladder is what we're seeing all over the country. i am convinced we will win the argument, and it will be the man and woman in this room who are on the front lines winning that fight. god bless you. [applause]
10:00 pm
>> well, as i told you in column after column, my boy can talk, and the reason is he can think. i am told by my masters that we have time for about eight minutes of questions and answers, and if you all are going to be shy, i might have a question or two. if you would like to ask a question, shoot your hand up boldly.
10:01 pm
>> i will be with you in a second. how do people like you overcome leftward media bias and general cultural bias that is leftward? how do we do this generally? >> the media will always be a lost cause. it was a lost cause 30 years ago when ronald reagan was elected. it is a lost cause today. you talk to the people. he did that. it is a lot easier with the internet, with social media, with facebook, with twitter. with my race in texas it was a 55 million-dollar race. i turned to my wife and she looked at me and said "goodness gracious, i did not realize you're such a rotten guy."
10:02 pm
we did not have the money to respond. instead we used the internet. they began talking to their friends. we have to do a far better job. >> go right ahead. i worked on the romney campaign. and very familiar with the argument that we are to the end of the 70's. we see the signs of it all the time the special with the word in green energy. it seems obama was able to escape where carter did not get reelected. what gives you hope was essentially carter lost.
10:03 pm
>> his policy does not work. he is doubling down on them. there is a reason most presidents have a very challenging second term. they tended to overreach. president obama is giving every indication he will push for a radical and liberal agenda. it is that going to work or will it backfire? i believe the results of this election will further the process of new leaders stepping forward. we will do a better job making the argument. one of the ones you have is fox news, msnbc, cnn. we're living in parallel universes. do you watch fox is predominantly?
10:04 pm
[applause] you thought romney was going to win with 70%. if you watch msnbc, god help you. [laughter] a consequence of that, we did not do a good job communicating to those who were not already in the choir. let's take young people. young people voted overwhelmingly for barack obama. we did not carry the message. if you are a young person coming out of school, why would you be voting for a president and party that has done so much damage to the economy that you cannot find a job? the answer is to live with your parents until you are 26 and can be on their health care. it is not complicated.
10:05 pm
you are getting stuck with that bill. your parents and grandparents have taken out a credit card in your name and they are maxing it out and going to vegas. we have to make this message and carry it to people who have not heard it yet. >> i have a question that goes to the very far future. we are facing a future with artificial intelligence saying there will not be a job in the future. we need to think about new economic systems to deal with productivity growth and employment loss.
10:06 pm
i hope the republican party will lead in this. if not, the future is going to be dismal. >> i appreciate that question. i've just been elected to serve in congress. i deal with artificial intelligence a lot, [applause] there were massive technological changes. they are producing dislocations. what we have seen in the united states, we have seen a shift from an agrarian to an industrial society to an information age. these are always difficult. if you look at these that his organization, they do lousy on
10:07 pm
transitions because it changes the rules. if we have a collective government control of our economy a century ago we would have massive subsidies for hers and bedding makers because they were going out of business by this automobile maker. the way we get around it is if we remain an environment or someone can start a business, where someone can create a new opportunity to commit people to work. that will continue to happen unless we allow -- what government control does, bidding socialism is bad for the rest. that is not true. this is a socialist country. the rich do just fine.
10:08 pm
you have to be born to aristocracy and you can have a nice school to sculpted gardens. >> you do not see it in the new rich people. we do not seize the social mobility. you do not see bill gates starting a company and building it into one of the most powerful companies in the world. that is that we overcome these transitions. what is most dangerous is the power and control of government calcifies. it makes it harder for them to start. this is the threatening the future of all of us. >> i am an attorney and a newspaper columnist from wyoming.
10:09 pm
many people here today attended the march for like yesterday. we are aware that 55 million people are not here today. they're not paying into social security. could you please speak to the policy indications of that as recognized by the republican party? what are the prospects for moving from an income tax to a consumption tax in the future? >> i'm going to give you one minute and 27 seconds. >> that addresses these both. on life you are right. 55 billion souls have lost their lives to abortion. we do not know how many scientists, doctors, artists, athletes, how many great businessmen who might have started a business to deal with this transformation, have been lost.
10:10 pm
i salute you for being at the march for life on one of the coldest days of the year. i think we need to remain a party that celebrates every human life as a precious gift from god that should be protected from conception until natural death. >> i will give you a grand total of a minute on this final one. would you like to see a world power become eminent or would like to come home and switch republican if we could have that?
10:11 pm
>> somewhere in between is the truth of it. since world war ii we have been the preeminent voice for freedom, peace on the globe. that we must remain. we must remain unapologetically a voice for freedom and peace. when you think about moments in history, we have two pending nominations. the greatest diplomat, he just wrote a book on the nobel peace prize, the person who should have won a nobel peace prize more than anyone was ronald reagan.
10:12 pm
he won the cold war which had people hiding under their desks with fear of nuclear annihilation. he did so by understanding that the collective wisdom in 1970's, that their economy was unstoppable, you now see some democrats say we won the cold war. you have to laugh and say who is "we?" they say what all of them said of the cold war in 1970's, but it was foolish to even try and stand up. we built up a military to protect our defense. regan had the clarity of vision to overcome this state and to
10:13 pm
utter the most important words by president in modern times. he said "mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall." i think the united states should always remain an unflinching beacon of freedom. i do not think the answer is for us to be the world's policeman and solve every problem across the globe. my view of the military is exactly that of reagan's. it should be driven by the national security interest of the united states. we should go in with overwhelming force. when we are done, get the heck out.
10:14 pm
>> thank you for coming here. >> thank you. god bless you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> hi, everyone. wow, incredibly loud. i apologize to your eardrums. i am with the national review. this is our panel on what is wrong with the right. it will take the next 72 hours, so i hope you all have provisions. i am here with the editor of
10:15 pm
commentary magazine. [applause] the editor of national affairs, joe scarborough of msnbc, a columnist with "new york times". john, you wrote a book called "bush country" in which you celebrated the achievement of our 43rd president. he is a guy that thought deeply about immigration reform, poverty, and trying to craft a middle class agenda. now a lot are thinking the same thing. do you think republicans were too quick?
10:16 pm
>> sorry. i was tweeting. yes and no. politically, republicans distance themselves from george w. bush because it was the thing to do. numbers do not lie. he became very unpopular. parties do not have to embrace figures and politicians to become unpopular. my view is that a lot of distress over bush's domestic agenda from which they fled in 2005. it had been an ancillary result of failure to defend iraq and have a favorable recognition. >> what might have been a successful policy agenda? >> i think the entire country stopped listening to president bush which would be good for the country when it lost faith that he was managing the war effectively.
10:17 pm
he found it more difficult to get hearings on some of the issues. a lot of people on the right to it came at bush on a lot of these domestic issues. they were feeling extremely distressed about what was going on in the war and did not want to turn on the war. we have troops in the field. this seems like a noble endeavor. they were angry at him for throwing them on the defensive for the prosecution of the war. as a result of the republican party getting thrown on its heels of immigration, in 2006 i published a book on hillary clinton. >> we're right to come back.
10:18 pm
>> let me finish this point. the morning that i, i had 150 radio interviews. the book was being sent off. i did eight interviews the first day. every single one of the interviews i came on the conservative radio station and i said i am here to talk about my book. the conservative radio host would say "i do not want to talk about that. i want to talk about immigration. what's the matter with the president? what is going on?" this is supposed to be a friendly audience. they hated hillary. no conservative wanted to talk about the democrats. they wanted to distance themselves from bush.
10:19 pm
>> you are the person i turn to when i am looking for optimism about the republican future. when i think, what on earth are they doing, he makes sense of it in a way i appreciate. one of the republican governors that a lot of us are looking to is gov. bobby jindal. he makes a terrific outline of how it should be the party growth rather than austerity. what other policies should be backed by the party? he turned to term limits and the budget amendment. does this reflect a broader exhaustion? we have young republicans who are talking about a new idea.
10:20 pm
we keep hearing these retreads. what are your thoughts on that? should we fall into despair? >> let me make you feel better again. it is not quite right that we're only during retread. for the last few years for all of their difficulties, there has been a time of real creativity on the right. the republican party really has moved pretty dramatically in the right direction and is learning about how to speak of where it has moved to which it has always been a problem for conservatives. in terms of talking about growth and prosperity which is what conservative should be talking about, republicans have to be the party of growth and middle- class prosperity.
10:21 pm
even the louisiana governor is better than he says. it may be that when he talks about it he ends his sentences by talking about the balanced budget amendment which was helpful in 1993. if you look at what he's doing in louisiana, he is thinking when the time that globalization is bringing pressure on working class voters, at a time when the economy is going through a very complicated difficult moment or is not there had to get back to growth, he is thinking creatively about how to use the strength to build on its weaknesses. at the national level that is what conservatives have stated. the policy agenda that has to come is not fully worked out by any means. the questions are being asked, the direction of thinking has been helpful.
10:22 pm
it is different from what they were saying six months or a year ago. the focus is turning to the right place. that is not mean we have the right solution or it will persuade the public. >> i want to bring up something that my friend john mentioned a few minutes ago. part of what i heard was some of the difficulties we encountered during the invasion of iraq and the occupation or things that damage the republican brand in a deeper way.
10:23 pm
you have a lot to say. you have a thing or two to say about a number of other issues. is it your view is that republicans need to get right on foreign policy and that is a core issue that is affecting everything else? are you seeing it as a garnish on the salad? not essential. >> as a party, we need to have john and bill on that wing of the party. we also need those who acted and saw the world like we did in congress or we believed in a restrained foreign policy. that is part of the balance. you go back and look at what william buckley said about iraq. he said it was not a conservative venture.
10:24 pm
there's nothing conservative about believing that you're going to be able to change the way people live and think in other countries that do not have a democratic background. i think the bigger problem really has to do with the domestic side of things. as long as republicans have a coherent foreign policy, i think americans will go along with it. the bigger problem from the bush era came that he was a big government republican. we had $155 billion surplus when he came in. when you that we had a $1 trillion deficit. our national debt doubled. we had a seven million-dollar drug benefit plan. george w. bush did not veto a single appropriations bill.
10:25 pm
when you say this and some of going down the list, some republicans will get defensive. i like bush. i campaigned for him twice. i love john roberts except for one decision. george w. bush is some great things. i will tell you what. he completely muddied the brand when it came to what was our core issue, that we are a party of small government. if you give the american people a choice between voting for a big government republican or a big government democrat they will vote for the big government democratic every single time. what george w. bush did over eight years is destroying our brands. he is a conservative guy. george w. bush is no conservative.
10:26 pm
>> you really know how to work the crowd. i am impressed. >> they believe we should be the party of small government. >> i believe that rothko offered an article in the late bush years saying the main public bush's but he was a conservative. joseph the only conservative that believes that republicans should see the party is small government. you have a different take. the you enhanced the believe that there ought to be a new consensus. i want you to talk a little bit about that and the fact that in the 2012 election you have said that it is the first election in modern america in which social conservatism may have been a liability for the gop rather than a strength. that is pretty big coming from me.
10:27 pm
>> i cannot believe a guy from the "new york times" would say something like that. >> no. i was saying is lovely to finally be on a panel where there's someone more liberal than me. let me start not by sticking up for big government conservatism but sticking up for george w. bush's it sent to solve a problem that the republican party has more so today. he does not about to talk about the issues that the american public are not interested in talking about. if you look at the reagan coalition and the victories of 1980, 1984, and so on.
10:28 pm
they were built on an ideological argument about small governments, the limit to state action and so on. this was also about policies addressed to specific points. if you were not that ideological conservative leaning american, what were you concerned about? you were concerned about inflation and economic stagnation. you are concerned with the fact that prices were going up. it your paycheck was not growing. we're living there a generational crime wave. you work consumes about the soviet union.
10:29 pm
>> now what are people concerned about that health-care costs. to a lesser extent one economic growth is stronger, maybe they're worried about issues related to the environment. these are not issues that republicans like to talk about. they're not issues they are good at talking about. this is where it emerged in the late 1990's from a time when bill clinton had been something republicans up and down washington. the whole point of bush was to craft a republican party that had something to say about education. something like the prescription drug bill was too big and should have been paid for.
10:30 pm
the republican party will never the republican party will never give back to the wilderness. we have to keep our brand pure and make sure americans and no where the party of small government. americans are confident that the republican party is the party's small government. they did not vote for the republican party. it is possible that he should not nominate mitt romney next time and get a true conservative, if you look at opinion polls, barack obama won the election because people thought he cared about people like us. that is a touchy-feely kind of sentiment. it is the kind of sentiment that republican politicians have to deal with. he was better at dealing with this than any leader of the
10:31 pm
party. >> people have seen their wages fall over the last five years. how we're different. we will say we need to be the federal government program. we're line to give the more cash in money. this is how you are going to get this back to work. that is how we will get your child into the college they want to get into. we have to make our core message relevance and middle-class americans. the reason why romney lost, and you can look at him, it's a three minutes of listing to mitt romney talk about economics to realize he did not get it. >> there is one guy on this panel who spent much of 2011 and 2012 maneuvering desperately to try to get absolutely anybody to jump into the presidential
10:32 pm
nomination fight. it was a list. i want to ask you. you try to get an analyst parade republicans to run. do you think what we need is a leader? is a leader enough? do you think a leader is what we need to snap back into fighting form? >> it is great to be here on this fair and balanced panel. i said this was my idea of the perfect spectrum of opinion. i was here a couple of times. we had 12 years.
10:33 pm
i was part of that. republicans were about 170 seats in the house. i remember how important that conference was to cheer people up and give them a sense there was a feature more also having debates about what the future would be. republicans were about 170 seats in the house. i remember how important that conference was to cheer people up and give them a sense there was a feature more also having
10:34 pm
debates about what the future would be. one thing they have done is planted the flag for conservatives. it also has featured many debates over what this should be. the thing this is healthy for the conservative movement. i do not believe people should shy away from taxable debates. a leader would be good. would you like to have a strong leader or not? >> within limits. >> come on.
10:35 pm
>> is a leader all we need? >> it is not all we need. there are serious issues. >> there are several conservative explanations of what happened in 2008. there is no republican explanation for why the financial meltdown happened under a republican president after 12 years. one big problem that he had was there was no clear explanation of what most americans had. the worst moment economically was 2007/2008. they were better off by 2012.
10:36 pm
that is what did the most damage. the financial crisis in 2007, 2008 remains here. i am sure republicans do not have a clear explanation for it. here's one last example. dodd/frank, a very bad legislation. the agenda was really coming only after obamacare and the stimulus. they published articles against
10:37 pm
it. he won the house. republican house has no legislation to repeal dodd/frank are to replace dodd/frank with a sensible financial regulatory structure. what does that say about where republicans were in their agenda? you need to have some regulatory structure. we need some answers for what he would replace dodd/frank with. a lot of conservatives have blamed the american public for what happened. if you are a member of the public says obama's is terrible, what is your replacement? we do not want to get into that right now. that is not a serious government party. in that respect, having a leader
10:38 pm
would not be enough. >> i think there is a movement issue. the conservative movement came into fruition with rage in 1980. as a governing force, it is now three decades old. a lot of what goes on in these circles as a result of three decades and a lot of groups getting involved is a choking off of a lot of conversation. if you start down the road, you start talking about what is the kind of regulation you should have. you trigger a new regulation. it becomes a no-no. someone can turn to you and say you are just a big government liberal wanting to regulate
10:39 pm
small business. there is a problem with three decades of movement for thinking that into creating dead ends, particularly when the road needs to be laid down for the future. if we think forward when there is another series of national debates, if it is the case that he cannot have a serious conversation about what replaces health care, what replaces dodd/frank, how the levers of government are to be used by republicans, then you're not going to be able to talk. you'll not be in a position to talk to people who come to with the same in the logical framework that you do.
10:40 pm
>> i have a question for you and for joe. one issue is when you're talking about being a party of small government. you become a party that is all sticks and no carrot. when you're looking at the reagan vision, they seem to be offering some vision of the future. given the scale of deficits, you talked about why republicans should not fight every tax increase. how do you avoid becoming a party that is all sticks and no carrots? >> you cannot do that.
10:41 pm
ronald reagan was quoted as turning to people saying we need another wave of cuts and by this time reagan had realized that the country had had enough for a while. he said i'm the guy that always wears the white hat. you want to elect a leader that has a presumption that people on the local level can do better than people in the state level. we will give it to the federal government and let them handle it. you have to be pragmatic about it. you have a conservative court. at times you have to compromise. conservatism requires the
10:42 pm
ability for realism. you have to go up to defend ronald reagan. conservatives were enraged. time and time again he had to make tough decisions and is based not like. reagan did not care what the heck they said about him in the "new york times." he said he was insufficiently conservative. there has to be a balance. your focus has to be on winning. our focus has not been on winning. there's one reason why we have lost five out of the last six
10:43 pm
elections. it has to be about what john is talking about. i have been a tax increase absolutist. i believe raising taxes is immoral with people giving more than 50% to the government. this used to make your heart swell. he raised the question. why should we keep putting our political mess on the line? to make billions.
10:44 pm
>> if the republican party is no longer the party promising middle-class tax cuts, there's not that much room to give up. what is the republican party offering other then discipline on the spending side. what are you giving to me? the economy absolutely blew up in 2008. >> this is a real distinction between the right and the left as far as republicans and democrats are concerned. the conservative movement believes in actions that are broad based.
10:45 pm
if you're going to cut taxes, you cut them nationally. you do not target. this is partly the state and local level. targeting is where giveaways take place. it is where you play and figure out ways to appeal to people. if you are at a time when broad based tax cuts are no longer an unrealistic reality, the only way to get past where we are now is their economic growth. it is the only solution to refilling government coffers with money that does not come directly from the taxpayers. here is where it gets interesting. this has widely been tax cuts. a series of government to
10:46 pm
reforms that make policies more coherent, that a law on the tax side in health care reform side. you are in a position where the economy and locks are removed. the interesting problem is that if it is time to improperly it is there. he may benefit. this could happen. there could be a big economic recovery. maybe you have the interesting aspect that it is good for
10:47 pm
everybody. it would vindicate a lot of our ideas. it solidified the sense that obama had claimed america. >> this made a strong case for targeting. you have been writing for years on that while the democrats have their various pressure groups that republicans and conservatives should think hard about parents. we should perhaps target more policies toward the interest of the parent. >> targeting in the sense that it is vital to explain why a conservative policies are good for them.
10:48 pm
the idea is not that we should think about what we're going to advocate. this is not only impossible for conservatives, it would be very unwise. i think the danger of choking off debate is overstated. the fear of that is what causes a lot of conservative leaders in the republican party to stay away from a lot of new ideas. when you try, it turns out there's a vacuum, and people are hungry for new ideas. when you try to argue for what our growth and believe in prosperity and prosperity through growth requires a way of thinking about today's problems in a new way, there is a willingness to it. we've seen that on the entitlement front. if two years ago, you had said
10:49 pm
that every republican member of congress would vote for support of medicaid and a republican candidate would have run for president on it, you would have thought it was insane. an argument for it was put forward in terms of a conservative way of thinking about where the economy is going. there was a vacuum -- a huge vacuum -- and it was filled by the right kind of idea. there's a lot of room for that in a lot of different areas. it has to begin by thinking about what economic growth looks like now. republicans have got to be the party of growth and prosperity. the fact simply is, i think, that the barrier to growth today is not high marginal tax rates. the barrier to growth today is the profound inefficiency of our economy. that is, to a great degree, a function of government policy. it is an inefficiency of the public sector and those private
10:50 pm
sector -- those elements of the private sector that are most dominated by the government -- health care and education. it could be fixed by a series of different ways of thinking about how the government ought to go about providing the sorts of benefits it provides, providing the kinds of services it provides, approaching the economy in general -- that strikes me as the obvious way forward, and it carries with it a huge growth dividend. if you ask what we are offering the public, we are offering the public a lower cost of living, offering rising wages not crushed by health care costs that rise even faster. we are offering the public a more affordable middle-class lifestyle. that is done by thinking about growth, not by thinking in the sense of where we can give goodies in particular. >> bill, you have been around the block, and i think that implicit in the conversation so far -- [laughter] i mean that respectfully. >> he was like, married at 21.
10:51 pm
>> there's an implicit question you hear from a lot people, including some of the more fierce critics of the gop, was still identified as conservatives, about the idea that we need a real fight within the party -- who still identify as conservatives. now, there's this real question about weather or not with the republican party needs come before it can have real revival, is a knock down drag out fight over some basic principles -- whether or not what the republican party needs. do you think we need that kind of conflict? >> no, i do not. we do have obviously an honest debate, but i think there's a lot of receptivity and new ideas in how you can have a growth agenda that is a new growth agenda because we are in a different circumstance than we were in 1978 and 1979, and i am still for lower taxes and tax reform, but it may not be as high on the list of things that
10:52 pm
have to be accomplished as taking parts of the economy which are bloated and great -- put great burdens on middle- class families. i feel like i should stop now because i'm exhausted. i mean, i've been around the block so many times i can barely talk. [laughter] you are probably surprised ihave not fallen asleep yet. in some ways, you just got to -- one does not know what will happen in the future. this meant a discussion can sometimes become a little bit -- this meta discussion can sometimes become a little bit too meta. i am guilty of this, too, but everyone has become a little bit to tactical, a little too strategic. i would say by implication of the conservative movement, the
10:53 pm
purpose was to stand before history and say stop and no one has much patience for those who so urge it. i think there is a place for that among conservatives and republicans. i did argue that taxes were not the right fight to fight, but there are times when one just has to say -- look, this is wrong, and this is foolish, and we do not know if the odds are 60/40 that we will win or 80/20. reagan fought a lot of fights in his career.
10:54 pm
i am for fighting fights -- i wrote this in the context of women in ground combat units where i have been very distressed by a bunch of republican senators in the last 48 hours to have decided we had a war on women in charge of the campaign in 2012, and we are not going to oppose something that is literally not, i think, an extremely damaging -- [applause] extremely damaging in all kinds of ways. there are many good arguments against it. but politicians sometimes over think these things, and they tell themselves they cannot fight this fight because we did badly in 2012 on this, and cannot fight this fight because we have a constituency that does not want it, and you end up tying yourself into knots. i think we should encourage the possibility for political entrepreneurship over the next year or two or three. jack kemp was not popular. he did it from the house.
10:55 pm
he was not on the house ways and means committee, which is the committee that writes tax policy. the deeply resented him telling them what republican tax policy should be -- they deeply resented him. i am all for having these discussions and debates, and we have to have serious discussions on the merits of these issues, obviously, but i also think a little bit more occasionally throwing caution to the wind, a little bit more saying on this issue, we will stand here and make the case and see how it turns out three or six or nine months from now i think is what sometimes standing -- >> whenever i think of throwing caution to the wind, i think of who i know has been waiting
10:56 pm
patiently. please come throw caution to the wind. >> one of the interesting lessons of the paul ryan phenomenon is actually if you are a republican politician in washington or in the country as a whole, there is a real percentage in being associated with serious, substantive policy ideas that other politicians are not talking about. one of the biggest problems the party has -- i disagree with you a little bit on the standing before history thing because i think that is sort of all the republicans did for two years of obama. it goes to the question -- you contain multitudes, so you are circling, but your point about >> [inaudible] >> yeah, but your point about not having an alternative to dodd-frank. republicans were very good at saying there were going to make obamacare obama's waterloo and stop these things in their tracks, and when they did not, they did not have something else to say, but one person did have something else to say was paul ryan, and he was rewarded for it with all levels of media
10:57 pm
attention, massive popularity within the republican party, and the vice presidential slot on the national ticket. when i look at other rising stars in congress and around the country and i see them talking about the idea of new ideas without talking about the ideas themselves, i say, it isn't the lesson of ryan that if you talk about the specific ideas, there's more to be gained than lost? this is my personal biggest disappointment with the republican party of the last few years. where are the policy entrepreneurs in the party itself? i think conservatism had a serious policy problem, a serious intellectual problem four or five years ago. it was the end of the bush presidency. everybody was exhausted. people had tried things that worked, that had not worked. there was not a lot of fresh policy.
10:58 pm
five years on, if you pick up "the weekly standard," "national review," you can find not just the -- >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> i did not want to risk your last name. it is such a fraught issue. i do not think we have just the building blocks of a conservative domestic policy agenda. i think there is a conservative domestic policy agenda, but there are not any politicians interested in talking about it. >> by the way, it is not just that, it is also the question of picking a fight. there's also the fact that one of the distressing things we saw in 2012 was a kind of, "look, hey, squirrel" approach that democrats took with republicans that even if it was not for.
10:59 pm
the biggest one was sandra fluk e. a woman claimed she did not get to testify. nobody knew who she was. she was a georgetown university law student with an agenda about free contraception. suddenly, this person out of nowhere who was supposedly denied her right to speak before a congressional hearing, becomes the most famous person in america because republicans saw a bright, shiny object. "liberal feminists are attacking us for having done this and who is this person anyway? what is going on?" to the point where she ended up speaking at the democratic national convention and that entire preposterous incident becoming an emblematic moment in this war on women fight that i'm
11:00 pm
afraid you have to say if that war existed, democrats won in 2012. >> i'm a little nervous given that there are no women on the panel, but i wanted to go to you, joe, to pivot off of that. i think you are one of those on the panel who believe that maybe the republican party needs a message that is a little bit more in tune with a country that seems in the 2012 election to have changed its views on a lot of core issues relating to what we might call traditionalism, cultural conservatism. i want to hear your thoughts about that. >> we just need to be smart. when i was on the campaign trail, i did not obsess over right to life. i was a social conservative in all areas. with the primaries being focused
11:01 pm
on -- the media discussion is focused on contraception, an issue that was settled in 1965 by the supreme court, when we focus on abortion primarily, taken care of in 1973 by the supreme court, now the guns, the outline is laid out very clearly by scalia in 2008. sometimes we get in our way of what our message should be. i do want to say, though, and i think i have heard two things that i think are really exciting and important for all of us to focus on. one is what john said -- i think the debate has been stifled. it has been stifled because we have created this conservative group think over 30 years that has become more and more narrow. it would allow all of our
11:02 pm
primary presidential candidates being asked if they would take eight -- a 10-t0-1 deal. everyone is afraid to talk about legislation. >> is part of the group think floating reagan and buckley at every occasion? >> let me finish. the problem is liberals believe that you manage the government from the top down. we believe you manage the economy from the bottom up. we are managing our ideas from the top down. you want to talk about why everyone is talking about sandra fluke? it is because there are not 20 or 30 proposals out there like the war in 1993. i decided to run for congress in 1994, and in 1993, i talked about things like this, and there was so much excitement because there was not just one
11:03 pm
talk radio guy that everyone listened to or one news channel or one website everyone went to. you would get a great welfare reform idea from michigan. great crime ideas from wisconsin. newt gingrich, along with trent lott's, along with connie mack, along with jack kemp -- they were turning ideas out every single day. in 1993 and 1994, when i ran, i just plugged my campaign. it was him doing the very things that ross is complaining about that this republican party in our house does not do right now that gave us the majority. everyone in 1993 going into the
11:04 pm
rnc had a sign that said "think majority." we just laugh. we have not been the majority in my lifetime, but we got it because we had ideas. we had ideas on the house level. we had ideas in the state legislatures. we had ideas coming from governors, and democrats did not stand a chance. i was the first republican governor in my district since 1873. they hung the last one they sent to washington. [laughter] it is a rough damn district, but i won because every time i would go out, they would ask me is not a question about education. i would talk about term limits. i would talk about what they are doing in wisconsin. it is unbelievable.
11:05 pm
i would mix that in with the "wall street journal" editorial page -- were you writing for commentary in 1994? and i would listen to rush when i was driving from the event to event. it was not just talk. it was legislation. you ask me about budget, i would quote john kasich. you ask me about budget, i would quote kemp. we do not have that today because there is such a stifling group think that you go a little bit out of the way -- >> you obviously disagree with joe. >> you get hammered. it is important that you get hammered. >> you are saying when you go to
11:06 pm
the state level, when you read national affairs, you have a rich vein of a ton of ideas, so what is the problem? >> in part, what you are describing is actually top down, not bottom-up. it was the leadership in washington for the most part that gathered up these sorts of ideas from the states, from people in washington, from people around the country and made them available to people like you're running for congress. >> but the idea is they were bottom-up. they came from the states. they came from legislative laboratories. >> they came from the states, from congress, from think tanks not far from here, the same place they are coming from now. if you look at what bobby jindal is doing in louisiana, look at what is going on with public employees in wisconsin and new jersey and ohio, there are a lot of ideas out there, and there are also ideas that are just ideas being proposed by people
11:07 pm
in the think tanks. >> how does that translate to guys and women in the senate and house? >> that goes to your point. there is paul ryan, who takes the most fearsome comprehensive look at a difficult issue and becomes famous, respected, controversial, important, and the vice presidential nominee, and it is true that there were more -- many more politicians in washington in 1993 who were fluid with not only ideas but the actualization of them and the forms of legislation and policy proposals that i think is the case now. it is a problem with two routes one is there's a great many members of congress and senators who have been here a long time and have sort of coasted -- you do not know who they are. they do a lot of constituents service.
11:08 pm
then you have the new breed, the more ideological, a tea party years -- tea partiers and others, and they come with a governing agenda. this is what bill was attempting to school republicans on 20 years ago. politicians cannot come to washington to do nothing. that is an oxymoron. they can come to clear brush or redirect policy, but there seemed to be confusion on the part of a lot of the populace excitement in 2010 and 2011 that the best thing for them to do was nothing. the first debt limit fight in the summer of 2011 -- i think back to a lot of red states, and this proposal that somehow with the united states should do was to fall, and this was a really exciting moment because what we should do was to fall on our
11:09 pm
debt and have a big crisis that could lead to change -- this was not a rational response to a particular political moment. just as i do not think it was earlier this year. politicians have to act. they have to work. they have to do things. >> when they do that, they inspire. the reason i decided -- again, 29-year-old guy who had never been in politics. i decided to run for congress, to quit my law firm, just take the jump when i saw john kasich, who sounds boring, debating for three hours with tim penning his plan to balance the budget. i said if what you want to do is come up and do nothing -- >> this is very dangerous for a moderator to hear "that is exactly right."
11:10 pm
i will let ross jump in. >> we sound pessimistic, but in certain ways, we are being kind of optimistic. the implication shared by most people on this panel is there are a lot of ideas out there, that if you get the right leaders with the right ideas, the republican party will make a comeback and so on. i feel that way some days of the week, but i want to throw out another possibility which is that there are deep structural forces in american life that make this kind of come back extremely difficult. you have also been talking about what bobby jindal has been doing and we have been talking about state-level reforms. one of the big problems the republican party faced in 2012 was there was confusion about how the battles the party had been fighting and winning at the state level matched on to political debate. a lot of republicans said it
11:11 pm
themselves, "look at what scott walker has been able to do. look at what chris christie has been able to do. we are picking fights with big, powerful liberal interest groups in purple or blue states and winning them, so let's do the same thing at the national level." this is the same reason we had a lot of republicans telling me we were going to win wisconsin. we would do the same thing again, have the same kind of turnout, but the reality is that the problems that the federal government faces right now are very different from the problems that state governments face. state governments are dealing with a problem of special interest groups, right? public-sector unions, groups that are very powerful, but you can isolate them politically, even in a state like new jersey or wisconsin. you can say, "look, average voter, these organizations and institutions are a threat to the common good, and they are taking money out of your pocket." it does sound cynical and non- idealistic, but ultimately,
11:12 pm
political debates are about who is taking money out of your pocket, who is getting a better deal, who is getting a worse deal. at the national level, we are looking a structural problems related to entitlement. the problem is that to reform these programs, there is not a carrot that conservatives can offer to sell paul ryan's entitlement reforms. they are a stick -- necessary, maybe, but they are a stick. you cannot isolate medicare recipients. this is why conservatives are much more enthusiastic about talking about medicaid, for instance, than medicare. medicaid should be reformed. proposing block grants, these are often positive and serious proposals, but again, conservatives are better at isolating this particular problem of medicaid recipients being poor people, and it is not
11:13 pm
only poor people, which is sort of why it boomeranged to some extent. the reality is that to reform medicare, you have to take things away from everybody. >> we have been having the larger makers and takers dialogue for some time. you can divide the adult population into 30% that is college educated, 10% that did not finish high school, and 60% somewhere in between. one of the really alarming social trends has been when you look at marriage and family formation, that big middle of america is starting to look a lot more like those folks in the 10% the did not finish high school. less marriage, and when there are marriages, they are less stable. one question is that when you are looking at conservatives -- we have a lot of smart policy guys thinking about how to
11:14 pm
reform our bid for institution, but when you do not have a civil society, when you do not have that kind of robust foundation for this kind of -- families that are able to pursue economic progress on their own, then there is a really, really good question. how the conservatives talk about that? there's no policy that will make young people get married and stay married. >> family friendly tax reform. [applause] >> didn't you guys write a book on that? >> let me say first, i agree with the problem russ is laying out, but i do not agree with the way he is laying it out. i think there's more room at the national level to talk about carrots, not less. states have to deal with the national economy. a governor cannot say, "i'm going to create economic growth," because the problems we are facing are created by a
11:15 pm
large extent by health care costs, education costs, and the global economy. at the national level, it is easier to say that with the right sort of, for instance, health care reform, and i think medicare is properly understood in that context as much as in the context of we are running out of money, it is possible to reduce the cost of living in the middle class and a lot. it is possible to allow wages to grow much more than they have. we just do not do that. we talk about entitlements in the wrong way. >> but the appetite for redistribution is bigger in a society that is fragmented. >> yes, and i agree. i certainly agree that that is the essence of our longer-term social policy challenge. the fact that we are increasingly -- when you look at how people live, we just do live in two different countries. i think that charles murray's book last year was a very powerful way of laying that out.
11:16 pm
>> but this is a very peculiar problem that we face. we all talk about this. i think we are all along about it, even if you are not a hard- line social conservative. yet, what we do not see -- what we have not seen are the social dislocation costs of this. that is to say, when we started "the weekly standard" in 1995, the prognostic of peace that would make you laugh if you went back to look at it was by a criminologist and sociologists called "here come the super predators." the argument was we had created a generation of 17-year-old youth whose fathers had been in prison, who had never seen a strong family, and basically, they were on the way to creating a crime wave the likes of which we had never seen.
11:17 pm
that is one of the great humbling moments of my life as an editor. it is a wonderful piece. it was perfectly argued, and it made absolute sense at the time that we publish it, and it was so wildly wrong. it is not 18 years later. we have lived through a 20-year decline in crime. new york city last week -- not one person was killed last week in new york city. that sounds like you should not celebrate something like that, but that is not -- >> john has been out of town. [laughter] >> it is a real -- you know, part of the difficulty here is when we talk about this and look at this alarming, horrible trend
11:18 pm
that is upon us, it has been a concept for 40 years, and most social indices we can look at suggest the country is stronger than it was. >> except in terms of social mobility, the country is much worse, and for these reasons. i actually think there is a similar kind of problem in talking about the economic problems we face, the fiscal problems we face. a lot of conservatives want to say if we leave this untouched, unfixed for too long, it will blow up. i think it is worse than that. i think we will slowly declined for a long time. we have a lot of wealth to burn. we have a lot of capital to burn in this country, and we are burning it and of rebuilding it, and that is worse than hitting a wall that the forces you to fix the problem. we have to persuade ourselves to focus on these problems.
11:19 pm
it is a big part of the challenge of fixing them, but i do not think it is true that they are not real problems. them quickly, i think john's point is absolutely right, but it is crucial to understand the lesson of the last 20 years of social and economic trends is that, just as you have all said, the threat is stagnation. you cannot separate the strands from why growth has disappointed you cannot separate these trends. >> the functioning part of american society is capable of pulling the rest behind it for a very long time in a way that is deeply unsatisfying, not inclusive, and a real problem. >> that is an associate of assumption. that is to say -- there is a correlation question. we have this problem of social mobility at the same time we have the rise of globalization and the difficulty of creating work -- you know, sort of like introductory work for young
11:20 pm
people. the question is -- >> we've got to have questions. >> if you finish school and get a job and get married and then have children, you will not be in poverty. we have a situation where fewer and fewer people have that kind of life. >> really quickly, though, the conversation is so bleak up here right now about our economic future, we are in pretty darn good shape if you look at the long term. our last guess, what he has done -- our last guest, what he has done on research and energy -- the fact that we have a natural gas supply the 75 years out and back in 2002, we heard it was going to be gone in a decade, by 2020, we are going to have more oil -- >> it leads to questions. and there are none, so i will keep talking.
11:21 pm
[laughter] >> i am from winston-salem, so how do we combine conservatism and populism to get power? that is a big problem. i have a dream. i want a $40 trillion economy. i want 1% or 1.5% unemployment. r r whites, for blacks, fou latinos, and women. we can have a lot more things to do. we can abolish income taxes for the middle class. we can send all our kids to private schools. we are rich enough to do it. we have to make up our mind for what we want to do.
11:22 pm
>> that speaks to the point about how there is an immense amount of capital in united states, and the question is how it is advocated, how it is used, and weather it has seen further growth -- and whether it has seen further growth. >> bill, i'm curious as to how you think those things ought to be reconciled. >> and, bill, you have been around the block. you would be best, as the grizzled veteran on this panel >> for god's sake. >> to reach back decades, generations, to give us some of your insights, old man. [laughter] >> i had so many different kinds of relationships over the years with different kinds of populism. look, it is a democratic country, and i think a successful conservatism will be
11:23 pm
a populist conservatism. that is a fact of electoral politics of democracy, and i also think bill buckley was right when he said he would prefer to be governed by the 200 people in the boston phone book than the harvard faculty. public judgment is often better than elite consensus, and there is no reason conservatives out of a theoretical concern about populism should shy away from embracing sensible, healthy populist instincts and judgments about life. the people are often closely with reality, if we believe, as margaret thatcher said, that reality is fundamentally conservative. it would make sense that people in a reasonably healthy society would often have come to conservative judgments about how people should be rewarded for
11:24 pm
working and being responsible and you cannot run up trillions of dollars of debt without paying a price for it. if you look weak in the world, your enemies will take advantage of you and your friends will get demoralized. these are common sense populist roots, which in my view are sensible -- more sensible than in the fancy rationalizations for irresponsibility or weakness these are common sense populist views. i am pretty pro-populous. >> next question? >> we did not answer the question, which was how? >> i will not be able -- i do not think we will be able to. >> i think jon huntsman for a couple of weeks of the past year, but why did know the republicans talk about the banks? why did nobody say break up the banks? the banks that acted recklessly, the bankers that acted recklessly, they got a bailout from us. they got bigger. [applause]
11:25 pm
why didn't the republicans ask the question of barack obama during the debate, what happens tomorrow if citi goes under? >> which your administration has employed. >> i think that is a good question. everyone has written for a magazine on this panel, and we have all written a piece of that order and have been critical of wall street and big government and big business, especially of wall street and the obama administration. there's a problem, which has been alluded to already. it seems much more a problem at the federal level than at the state level. a lack of political on to nor should.-- a lack of political entrepreneurship.
11:26 pm
a lack of jack kemp-like figures, paul ryan-like figures. >> develop legislation along these lines. >> something happened this week that i think people ought to pay attention to that i found incredibly impressive and jaw- droppingly surprising from a member of the house gop that people need to pay attention to. next question, please. >> i keep hearing about this pro-growth, jobs-creating policy. could any of you describe the specific elements? >> step one would be to read "national review" and "the weekly standard" and you will get a lot of commentary -- >> whoever wants to take a first crack at that. [laughter] >> i think we have all address that and brought out lines. >> you have to ask what actually
11:27 pm
economic growth would consist of. it consists of two things -- labor market growth, more workers on the one hand, and productivity growth on the other. since world war ii, we've had huge growth in the labor market. the baby boomers got old enough to work, women into the workforce, enormous growth, and at the same time, we've had huge productivity improvements for various technological reasons. if you think about the economy over the last six years, the labor market growth we have had will not happen in the future. we will not have another baby boomer generation entering the workforce. women are in the workforce. that has plateaued. economic growth will be the result of productivity improvements. that means we need economic policy that helps our economy be more efficient, make better use of the resources it has. right now, we have economic policy that does exactly the
11:28 pm
opposite of that at every level on every issue of the economic economy. >> specifically, on health care, we spend more money per american than any other country on the face of the earth when it comes to health care. education, we spend more money per pupil than any other country on the face of the earth. here are two great places to start. third, debt. we do have to look at medicare and medicaid and social security and plan for the next 20, 30 years. if we take care of those three things, we send a very strong message, especially on the final thing, long-term debt, to the markets worldwide. right now, we are going through our own problems, but over the next decade or so, the united states of america is going to be the best place to invest your money if we get our house in order. >> really quickly, though, it is
11:29 pm
also -- i have heard time and time again over the past five years, whether it is jamie dimon everybody says there are two trillion dollars -- $2 trillion or $3 trillion waiting to be invested, but they will not invest because they do not know what barack obama is going to do. they do not know what congress is going to do. they do not know what washington is going to do because there's uncertainty. we can do a lot to get this economy going again just by bringing certainty back to washington, and that is a question of whether republicans and barack obama can figure out how to get the hell out of the way so people can invest in this country. >> the answer in part to that is unknowable. you just heard the gentleman talking about hydraulic fracturing, which has the
11:30 pm
potential to be the most important event in american economic life since the close of the second world war. nobody knew that it was on the radar screen 10 years ago, just as nobody knew what the result of the silicon chip would be. we do not know what innovation is going to call. what we do know is that there are many policies that exist that can strangle innovation in its crib, just as right now, the what we do know is that there are many policies that exist that can strangle innovation in its crib, just as right now, the entire debate within the obama administration over approving the access rights to the keystone pipeline is going to have quite a substantial effect on what the overall economic growth of the united states is over the next 10 years. policies that seek to make it more possible for those innovations to spring to life without being choked or strangled -- they would not really be, but held back unnecessarily -- have enormous potential for economic growth.
11:31 pm
the point that joke is making is very important. the united states last year, while this entire debt crisis was going on and our level was downgraded, put out a bond issue, right? 10-year treasury bills. basically, it sold out. everybody who bought it bought it basically at a loss. the interest rate was 1.6%, 1.7%, which means they were paying the united states because of inflationary growth -- they were paying the united states to park their money. that is the nature of the world. the truth is, every place else is worse off than we are. we are poised for enormous -- >> i know we have another question, but in the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king, but that does not mean it is great to be the one eyed man.
11:32 pm
>> it is terrible, but it gives you grounds -- >> the guy with one eye. >> next question. >> i am president of the federalist society here at george washington university law school. education tends to frequently disappear from the national conversation. how do we sustain a full court press on education reform, for school choice, for vouchers? >> ross, i do want to take a crack at that -- ross, do you want to take a crack at that? >> not really. >> i will abuse my moderator privilege and talk first. people talk about education as a social justice issue. it was actually george w. bush who moved us in this direction.
11:33 pm
you talk about the achievement gap between white and non-white students, or you talk a lot about vouchers as an issue for inner-city students. one potential problem is when you are looking at our schools for middle-class suburban students, those schools are pretty terrible. they are not doing what we actually need them to do. i think when you are talking about the larger issue of education reform, let's not be afraid of making that issue relevant to middle-income voters because it affects their lives. when you talk about productivity and where that growth will come from, a big wedge of productivity growth has come from improvement in labor force quality. that is kind of a creepy term for referring to the fact that your average worker is getting a little bit smarter than your average worker before, able to do a little bit more. you have a situation with 65 year olds leaving the work force about as educated as the 21-year-olds entering the work force, whereas when you look at asia, there's a big gap, which is that the workers are getting smarter with each passing year.
11:34 pm
that's a huge economic problem and one of the reasons why economists believe our productivity growth will be stagnant. we need to talk about this as an issue directly relevant to middle income voters. you need to go beyond choice just as a matter of vouchers and social justice and talk about it as a core economic policy issue. i think that's a big opportunity for conservatives as well. next question. >> thank you. my question is a pragmatic one from an activist point of view. let's assume we pull together a really good ideas and have great leadership and create an inspiring vision. the question is -- how do you transmit that to the average voter? >> the person i always turn to for inspiring visions is john podhoretz. i wonder if you have any thoughts on this.
11:35 pm
>> it is with to talk like they are sitting over there and you can go visit them later, they will tell you the deals and what they are, but that is what politics comes in. politics is about salesmanship. politics is about finding ways to connect the large, macroeconomics, macro policies that the government is going to do to the lives of ordinary people. often, that happens thematically. the part of the republican coalition that has vanished because of the changing nation of the world, and while policy successes and the decline of crime and the loss of the soviet union was security. the republican party became the party if you were concerned about your security, your personal security, the nation's security, the democratic party stopped speaking to that, and
11:36 pm
the republican party spoke to that. that was not necessarily a unified message. somebody had to come along and figure out how to make that co here -- cohere. this is where the 2012 election is instructive. could mitt romney have done better? the answer is sure he could have. he made very deliberate choices about what kind of campaign he would run. bill talked about this for months, that running on the presumption that a bad economy would get him elected freed him of the responsibility for making positive arguments about a lot of things and making those structural arguments that might have been a counterweight to the data mining magic of the obama machine. there was no counterweight. >> if i could follow quickly -- macro politics -- we saw it in
11:37 pm
this election, and i was shocked by it. macro politics has got to be filtered down into micro targeting. we do not have a national election anymore. we did not have a national election for president this year. we had an election of about eight states. the obama people were smart enough to figure that out. republicans were not. they went into those eight states and mined data. they did it on facebook, twitter, in all these places. they killed us. they spent tens of millions of dollars -- chris christie's top aide went to him in june and said he had been looking at obama's records and that they were in trouble. millions and millions and millions of dollars finding people. it was the 2012 equivalent of what i did in 1994. i had no money, so i got the
11:38 pm
super republican list, and for a year, i went door-to-door and walked on doors of republicans that voted in primaries. i did not talk to anybody else for 18 months. my kids, my wife, a little bit, but outside of that -- but they focus on it. we have to get past the idea that i have and i know a lot of you guys probably have that you do not think it will be a lot like 1980. it is going to break the last weekend. 30,000 people at that pencil valley -- pennsylvania rally. how exciting. the election was already over because obama's people targeted their voters. they found them online. they dragged them out. they had people calling three times in one day on cell phones. that is how we win. the leader matters.
11:39 pm
the message matters, but make no mistake about it -- the obama people marketed their guy like he was a bag of potato chips. i'm not being cynical here. that is how we are going to win four years from now. if you have a great leader -- reagan, obama in to the senate, clinton in 1992, then yes. that wave will crash over the mike or targeting, but in a close race, this is the future, and we got whipped. >> one quick question, and we are all going to give very quick replies. >> we have to talk about this in smaller terms. this is the land of liberty, but our own government is stifling it in every walk of life -- i am a physician. lyndon johnson has destroyed american healthcare, the health-care profession. i had a 450-pound man the other day telling me to f myself
11:40 pm
because i kept pressing him to become healthy. if he did, he would lose his social security disability income. the other day, mike i.t. employee, bright young kid, high-school graduate, just got himself $110,000 job -- my i.t. employee. got his home loan pulled because he had a squabble with a crooked builder. dropped the house, gave away his $1,000, but he built a house, and he cannot buy it because the bank tanked his loan. this guy is the most reliable thing you could ever imagine, and then we read that dodd-frank and obama would not allow it. do we have to find these stories where our own government is killing us every day?
11:41 pm
>> yes or no question, should we find those stories coming you guys? john, you want to start? >> sure, that is part of the way a leader sells its policies, through an illustrative anecdotes that seems to connect and resonate with people -- through illustrative anecdotes that seem to connect in resonate with people. there will be a great many more of these stories about what happened and happens in the medical profession that obamacare has implemented that we cannot even imagine yet. >> i'm all for it. >> we do have to tell the doctor sorry, for instance. a tool be hard, but we have to tell americans that we cannot just take from providers. talk to any physician that operates, the works day in and day out, and they will tell you
11:42 pm
they will just opt out of medicare. >> you need stories, but you also have to have answers to the other kind of story. this goes back to the previous question about when you're talking about policy at the local level, if you look at the health-care debate, there are a lot of people in the united states of america who do not have health insurance and cannot afford health insurance, and that is not because the american health-care system as a whole is terrible. it is often because of structural problems that you and other people write about all the time, but to those people, the republican message on health care does not have anything to say. if you cannot afford health insurance, mitt romney had nothing to say to you. you need something to say, and that is true across a host of issues. you want stories that ratify
11:43 pm
and reinforce your point, but when barack obama starts talking about real people who really cannot afford health insurance, you have to have something to say, or else you will lose. >> unfortunately, i got the throat-slitting motion from the staff here. >> that's ok. bill is a sleep over here. >> thanks very much. national captioning institute] national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> next president obama and vice president biden at the national prayer service. then from the national review summit remarks from paul ryan, governor scott walker and tid cruise.
11:44 pm
obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis. >> i think i just have little antennas that went up and told me that somebody had their own aagenda. >> so much influence in that office, it would be ashame to waste it. >> they serve as a window on the past to what was going on with mrn women. >> she is really in a way the only one he can trust. >> many of the women who were first ladies were writers, they wrote books. >> they were in many cases more interesting as human beings than their husband's if only because they are not first and foremost defined and limited by
11:45 pm
political ambition. >> she was both socially adepartment and politically savvy. >> dolly madison loved every minute of it. mrs. monroe absolutely hated it. >> she warned her husband you can't rule without including what women want and what women have to contribute. >> during the statement you were a little breathless and too much looking down and i think it was a little too fast, not enough change of pace. >> yes, ma'am. >> pronal the most tragic of all of our first ladies. they never should have married. >> she later wrote i myself never made any decisions. i only decided what was important and when to present it to my husband. you stop and think about how much power that is. it's a lot of power.
11:46 pm
>> part of the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that acknies the disease. >> she transformed the way we looked at these bug boose and made it possible for countless people to survive and to flourish as a result. i don't know how many presidents have that kind of impact on the way we live our lives. >> just walking around the white house grounds i am constantly reminded about all of the people who have lived there before, and particularly all of the women. >> the first ladies, their private and public lives. c-span is teaming up with the historical association for the first series for television, first ladies influence and image. season one begins president's
11:47 pm
day at 9:00 p.m. pacific on c-span, c-span radio and cspan.org. >> one day after their inauguration president obama and vice president biden attended a prayer service at the national cathedral in washington. this is 90 minutes. ♪ ♪
11:48 pm
11:49 pm
[singing]
11:50 pm
♪ ♪
11:51 pm
11:52 pm
11:53 pm
11:54 pm
11:55 pm
>> i'm the dean of washington national cathedral. >> it is our great pleasure to extend a warm and big welcome to everyone to this house of prayer for all people. >> although we have distinct traditions and speak different languages we share goodwill for the entire community. >> welcome to your house.
11:56 pm
>> god be merciful unto us and bless us. >> that your words may be known upon earth. let the people praise you oh god. blessed be the one holy and living god. >> look graciously mighty god upon this land, where it is in pride, subdue it, where it is in need, supply it, where it is
11:57 pm
in error rectify it. where it is in default, restore it. and where it holds to that which is just and compassionate toward the poor and vulnerable of every race and background in our nation, support it. in the mighty and mat tress name of jesus i pray, amen. ♪ ♪
11:58 pm
plen singing national anthem] ♪ ♪
11:59 pm
>> seek the lord who wills to be found. call upon the lord who draws near. let the wicked forsake their ways and the evil ones their thoughts and let them turn to the lord who will have compassion and to our god who will richly pardon.
12:00 am
for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. for as rain and snowfall from the heavens and return not again but water the earth bringing forth life and giving growth, seed for sewing and bread for eating, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which i have purposed and prosper in that for which i sent it.
12:01 am
the word of the lord. gracious is the lord and righteous. the lord watches over and calls upon us to watch over the innocent. turn again to your rest my soul. for you have rescued my life from death, my eyes from tears
12:02 am
and my feet from stumbling. i believed even when i said i have been brought so low. how shall i repay the lord for all the good that he has done for me? i will fulfill my vows to the lord in the presence of all god's people. >> faithful god, accept the prayers of all your people in
12:03 am
the multitude of your mercies, look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help. [singing]
12:04 am
12:05 am
12:06 am
12:07 am
12:08 am
[singing]
12:09 am
faithful got, accept the fervent
12:10 am
prayers of all your people in the multitude of your mercies, look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help. for you are gracious oh lover of souls. let us pray for those charged with the governance of our nation. strengthen the hearts of our president bra rack and our vice -- president barack and our vice president joseph, make them bold for the work you have set before them. grant them wisdom to discern your will and to consider your word among the council they receive. up hold them that they may discharge their duties in the full light of your divine grace. keep this nation under your care.
12:11 am
give courage to the senators and members of the house of representatives to hear the people's voice and to provide for the common good. give them the vision to care for your creation. lead them to willingly fulfill our obligations and responsibilities in the community of nations. keep this nation in your care. stir up the passion and reverence of the justices of the supreme court for the rule of law and the way of justice. fill their deliberations with insight and their judgments with integrity as they act to secure human rights and the flourishing of responsible freedom. keep this nation under your care.
12:12 am
>> a law oh lord, all those to whom we commit the government of this nation. give them the self-control necessary to our time. may they consider all calmly and act wisely and promptly in all things. give them the desire to up hold the right, up holding the wrong and performing that which is just so that in all things your will may be done. let us pray to the lord.
12:13 am
>> a reading from st. paul's second letter to the corinthians. >> it is god who said let light shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ. we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to god and does not come from us. we are affected in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair.
12:14 am
persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. always carrying in the body the death of jesus so that the life of jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. the word of the lord.
12:15 am
12:16 am
[singing]
12:17 am
12:18 am
12:19 am
12:20 am
12:21 am
12:22 am
[applause]
12:23 am
♪ [call to worship]
12:24 am
12:25 am
12:26 am
>> all who call upon your name in the course of daily life, work and service. you call and gift us for work that brings us joy and embodies concern fur our neighbors. make us glad and grateful for the strength to serve you and our neighbor. let us pray for those who through any form of service offer themselves in devotion to our nation.
12:27 am
>> almighty god, we commend to your care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. grant them a sense of your abiding presence, strengthen them in every trial and temptation, defend them in places of danger and pearl. sustain them in they are dedication. give us grace to do your will in all we undertake. god of creation, we pray for all who work in places of danger, who rush in to bring help and comfort, who offer hope when others flee to safety. keep them under your watchful eye that they may continue to save lives, ease pain and by their presence mend the torn fabric of lives in social order.
12:28 am
give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake. almighty god, bless your people who govern in every place, instill in the leaders of every state, school boards, counties and cities and agencies with a disposition to use their authority for the betterment of all people of this nation. in the name of jesus give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake. >> dive to all the people of our land, oh god, the desire to serve you in their life and vocation. may your presence be manifest in all that we say and do. we've together the work of every
12:29 am
hand and commitment of every heart. for we recognize our interdependence, our responsibilities to one another and the mutuality of our destiny. let us pray to the lord. >> a reading from the gospel according to matthew. jesus said you are the assault of the earth. -- the salt of the earth.
12:30 am
but if salt has lost its taste, how can saltiness be good. it is no longer good for anything. but it is thrown out and trampled under foot. you all are the light of the world. a city built on a hill cannot be hid and no one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the lamp stand and it gives light to all in the house. in this same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.
12:31 am
the word of the lord.
12:32 am
12:33 am
>> god of love. help us widen the boundaries of our hearts. you know us better than we know ourselves. the distinctions we make, the biases we hold, the ways in which we fail to manifest our greatest potential as we diminish ourselves and others with our impatience, lack of hope.
12:34 am
give depth to our faith. let our actions bear witness to the expansiveness of your mercy. grant us the grace to love our neighbors and to love ourselves. we pray that you bring your presence among us as light, as life and as holy inspiration. >> challenge us, oh god, that even as we love our own country, you would have us develop a global perspective in your eyes, the world is our neighborhood. grant us every necessary grace to love our neighbors as ourselves. open our eyes to see the life giving and the good in every person and in every place.
12:35 am
and as neighbors become friends, may we work to restore the wonder of the world you have made. bless all who is lives are closely linked with ours. cause us to put our bodies and souls in motion in the spirit of our brother martin on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised, the worn and the weary, the produced and the afflicted and renew our capacity for mercy. fashion in us a dream for our time powerful enough to transform the lives of all those who you love and for the well being of all that you have made. bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours.
12:36 am
call us to join the artists and the artisans, the preachers and the prophets, the laborers and the belabored who hold aloft the lamp of your truth in a world way too willing to settle for darkness. give us sufficient a heart for the newness that you would bring that all lesser things will fail to satisfy. bless those who is lives are closely linked with ours. >> open our hearts, god of all, to pray for those who will this day face any great decisions. for all who will engage in
12:37 am
settling the affairs of peoples and of nations, for all who mold public opinion in our time, for all who write what others will read, send us forth to work another day surrounded by your loving kindness pledged in faithful service, standing in your strength and not our own. as former things pass away, oh god, make all things new. let us pray to the lord. ♪
12:38 am
12:39 am
12:40 am
>> you may be seated. >> mr. president, mad dam first lady, vice president and dr. biden.
12:41 am
it's a privilege to be with you today and to be sharing on this the second inauguration. over the last two weeks i've been praying a lot, god what would you have me say to these remarkable people. and the first thing god wanted me to say was thank you. a friend of mine once told me there are three reasons why people seek public office. the first is there are some who want to feel important and they want all the power it afford them. then there is the second group and those are off in the head. then there is a third group who really want to make a difference and change the world for the better. and i believe that represents you and all of you in this administration and the leadership in our country.
12:42 am
we americans say it seldom but we should say it far more often, thank you for giving yourselves for sacrificing and living in glass houses and accepting the constant criticism with very little praise. for being willing to risk everything in order to serve this country, thank you. [applause] this month mark it is 150 anniversary of the emancipation proclamation. as i was thinking of scriptures to reflect on i thought of the emancipation story and the man name months says. as we reflect on his life i'd like to lift up three ideas from his life that might speak to all of us today as leaders in our country and i hope in some way speak to those of you in highest authority in our land.
12:43 am
i begin with the heart and character. there are two things we learn about his heart and character in the scriptures. numbers tells us that the man was a humble man, more humble than any other man on the face of the earth. god chooses and uses those who humble themselves before him and before others. young mary, the mother of jesus said those scatter their hearts but lifts up the lowly. jesus turns to his disciples and says to them, you don't understand that's how the kings of the world operate, but that's not how you operate. the first among you, the one who will be great will be your servant. then he washed at their feet. now his humidity was coupled with a deep compassion and concern for the marginalized and oppressed.
12:44 am
he was raised in pharoah's palace. when we saw the plight of the hebrew slaves he could not remain in silence and could not remain in the palace. ultimately he risked his life. he led them into the wilderness towards the promise land. this is what god looks for in the scriptures from every king, every rabbi, every leader, he looks for those who will take seriously the call to justice, to do kindness, to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. james says true religion is to care for the widows and the orphans and jesus says at the last judgment it all comes down to how did you respond to the needs of the least of these.
12:45 am
this is america at our best. at our best, we are a humble people and we remember the call to have passion for the least of these. that is why it's etched inside the sought of liberty give me your tired and poor, the send these the homeless to me. i lift my lamp beside the golden door. humility and compassion for the oh pressed are central to the heart and character and are meant to be central to the heart and character of this nation. the second thing we learn is the importance of having a vision. a professor retired from harvard business school noted tasks of any important leader are to cast a vision for the too much and to inspire people to pursue it.
12:46 am
it has to be a clear picture of where we want to go, a preferred picture of the future. he led the slaves out of egypt but that was not enough. quickly they began to desire to go back to egypt. the wilderness was hard. he had to constantly remind them of the vision. he said here marching to the promise land, a land flowing with milk and honey. where we can live in harmony. a compelling vision unifies us. it leads people to a willingness to sacrifice and a sense of purpose. carter suggested that the average american company a compelling vision, at least. this came as true of local churches. congregations across the country that do not remember their purpose and no longer see a compelling vision for the
12:47 am
future. sadly, this feels true of america today. with our two party system, it often feels like political rhetoric. we typically are offered two different visions competing with one another, not one unifying vision. too many americans we feel like a house divided that cannot stand. we find ourselves desperately longing to find a common ground, a common vision, to be one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for everyone. in the city, and in this room, are the people who can help. this may be, this bringing together our country, a more important issue than any we face.
12:48 am
we will find it to the cult dissolve any other problems we are facing. debt ceilings, issues of healthcare. proverbs notes this, without a vision, the people perish. they do not literally perish. they just bicker and fight and become so polarized they cannot get anything done. we are in need of a new common, national vision. not once only democratic or solely republican. we need at least one goal where we can come together. that is where we need to go. god has given you a unique gift, mr. president. you have the ability to cast vision and inspire people. you should have been a preacher. [laughter] [applause] god actually has you exactly where god wants you. yesterday you begin to lay out a vision for us in your inaugural address was very powerful and compelling.
12:49 am
somewhere we have got to find and forge one or two that dreams or visions that people on the right and they left, republicans and democrats, can come together and back hands on this. you hinted towards that yesterday. we have to remember our picture of the promised land. when we do that, anything is possible in america. i offer one small example of the power of vision from the church i serve in kansas city. one of our visions is to address the root causes of poverty in kansas city, so that our city that looked more like the kingdom of god that jesus preached about. when we begin to ask, what we learned was that the one thing everyone agrees upon is early childhood education. so we had a vision that we would work together with the public schools in kansas city to find a way to give the 2284 children a chance for a better future.
12:50 am
we partnered with the schools, we said, we do not have the answers but we offer ourselves as servants. how can we help? this last year, 2500 members volunteered in the schools. we build playgrounds at six schools where they did not have them. we repainted the inside of the schools where they did not have money to do so. our members volunteered as tutors to read to the children. we purchased 20,000 books and given to the children. when we found out that 1400 children were coming to school hungry on monday, because they did not have lunch at home, we started providing backpacks for children with nutritious food in them.
12:51 am
when we learned that 300 children sleep on the floor or on the couch in their homes, we provided 300 beds. on christmas eve -- [applause] the biggest night of the year at our church, we voted a number of years ago to give away the entire christmas eve offering to a project benefiting children in poverty. we challenged our members to give an offering equal to what they spend on their own children. we give half of it to project benefiting the 2284 children in kansas city. on christmas eve, our folks gave $1,235,000 to these projects. [applause] i mention that, not to brag, though i am very proud. that is one congregation with one vision.
12:52 am
that unifies us as a church. there are democrats and republicans in our congregation. now, these kinds of visions pull us together into the future. the last word i would mention, regarding moses, is that despite great opposition to his leadership, and feeling discouraged many times, he never gave up. to be a leader is to invite criticism. if you are a sunday school teacher, they will criticize you. if you are a supervisor at mcdonald, they will criticize you. if you are a preacher, they will criticize you. and i do not know how you are still standing. [laughter] it was not long after moses began to lead the children of israel out of egypt that they began to grumble against his leadership. four years in, they dislike his policies so much, they tried to vote him out of office. somehow he managed to keep his job. in number chapter 11, there is an endearing story of moses. he goes to the wilderness and
12:53 am
lifts up his hands in praise, god, just kill me now. i do not want to do this anymore. it is too hard. this was one time that god did not answer moses prayer. he said, in essence, get back to work, i need you. i am reminded of when dr. king received a threatening phone call. his children and wife were asleep. this was not his first threatening phone call. and the montgomery boycott, there had been many. on this night, as his children and wife lay sleeping, he felt he could not go on. he began to think of a way he could gracefully bow out of the movement. at midnight, he bowed over the kitchen table and began to pray. i am afraid, lord.
12:54 am
the people are looking to me for leadership. if i stand before them without strength and courage, a, to will falter. i am at the end of my powers, god. i have nothing left. i have come to the point where i cannot face it alone. then he describes something interesting that happened next. he said, i experienced the presence of the divine as i had never experienced god before. it seemed as though i could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying, you end up for righteousness. stand up for truth. and god will be at your side forever. imagine how the world would be different today if dr. king had bowed out of leadership because it got too hard. had he not stopped to pray that makes them feel god's reassurance. the name of this year's inauguration was faith in the future of america. in this service, we come together to acknowledge that in order for america to have a future, we first need to find a
12:55 am
deep and abiding faith in god. it is this faith that calls and compels us to humility, compassion, concern for the nobodies. it is this faith that helps us discover the kind of vision that are worthy of our great nation and the sacrifices we can make. it is this faith that sustains us when we feel like giving up. a faith that comes from trusting in the words of jesus who said, i am with you always, even to the end of the age. i end with the story. during martin luther king weekend several weirs ago, i was listening to npr and an interview with reverend billy kyles who was with dr. king when he died. they asked what he would be preaching on that weekend. he told a story you have undoubtedly heard before, but it bears repeating.
12:56 am
he said i will be telling the story about robert louis stevenson. the 19th-century author once told he was sitting in front of the window, watching the man lightly streetlamps. he would climb up and light the lamp with a torch and then take it down and go to the next one and the next one. and his father walked in the room and said, what are you looking at? what do you see out there that is so fascinating? and young stevenson said, i am watching that man out there knock holes in the darkness. there is a lot of darkness in the world. lead us to a compassionate people. help us rediscover a vision for america that is so compelling that it unites us. when you feel your lowest.
12:57 am
do not give up. wait upon the lord, he will renew your strength that you might lead us as a nation to knock old in the darkness. amen. [applause] ♪
12:58 am
♪ ♪
12:59 am

145 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on